THEY’RE here.

Meet the new intake of students for the Southern Daily Echo’s Classroom in the Newsroom initiative who have started work.

Eight budding reporters have begun the One Year Diploma in Journalism course based at our Redbridge headquarters.

We have teamed up again with journalism training centre, Highbury College in Portsmouth, to run the scheme that mixes high-quality training alongside work experience at the Southern Daily Echo and our website, dailyecho.co.uk.

The students will learn how to be a working journalist and will leave with all the skills they need to make it on a newspaper, website, TV or radio station.

Achieving the diploma can also pave the way for a job in PR, social media, publishing and communications – all without having to pay thousands of pounds in university fees.

For the vast majority of applicants – particularly those under 19 – the course is free, so is a great alternative to getting into debt at university.

The diploma covers the essentials of journalism and includes reporting, public affairs, media law, court reporting, video broadcasting, and shorthand.

Highbury College in Portsmouth has more than 50 years’ experience in training journalists with a great number of success stories including ITV newsreader Mark Austin and the BBC’s deputy political editor John Pienaar.

Places are available for next year’s course from September 2018. If you would like to apply log on to highbury.ac.uk/journalism, ring 023 9238 3131 or e-mail journalism@highbury.ac.uk to arrange an interview.

For more information, search for the Highbury College Journalism Training page on Facebook.

PANEL - What is required to join the course?

You will need at least 5 A-C grades at GCSE including English and ideally you should have also achieved either two A levels or an equivalent Level 3 qualification such as a BTEC Diploma.

What qualifications will be achieved?

You will achieve a Diploma in Journalism

What attendance is required?

The programme is due to run over 39 weeks, starting in September. You will be based mainly at the Echo.

Cost and payment?

You will usually not be expected to pay a fee if you are:

(BLOB) Under 19 at the start of the academic year (as of August 31).

(BLOB) Aged 19-23 at the start of the academic year (as of August 31) and are unemployed and in receipt of certain government benefits.

(BLOB) Aged 19-23 at the start of the academic year (as of August 31) and do not already hold a Full level 3 qualification.

Students not in the above categories will usually pay the advertised fee of £4,170 . Students applying for these courses are usually eligible to apply for an Advanced Learning Loan but should consider their own personal circumstances and seek impartial advice before entering into a financial agreement.

How do I apply?

Apply to join the One Year Diploma in Journalism by logging on to highbury.ac.uk/journalism, emailing journalism@highbury.ac.uk or ringing 023 9238 3131 and speaking to a member of the Information, Advice and Guidance team (option 4).

PANEL - Meet the students

Josh Bourne, 21

I grew up in Eastleigh and was educated at Bitterne Park School in Southampton and Barton Peveril College, where I passed A levels in English literature, history and geography, before going off to the University of Winchester to study English. Like most students I put off any thought of future employment until my last year when my thoughts turned to journalism. Looking for local opportunities, I found an advertisement for the Daily Echo’s Classroom in the Newsroom course with Highbury College. I think journalism always had an appeal to me as it gives me the chance to get out of the office and do something slightly different every day, as well as meet all sorts of interesting people from various walks of life. As well as reading and watching films, I am interested in politics and writing and this course will give me a great opportunity to develop both areas.

Bradley Halcrow, 19

I attended Itchen College in Southampton where I studied a diploma in journalism, A levels in English language and creative writing, and a CTEC in information technology. Since completing these courses over a year ago, my part time retail job turned into a full-time vacancy, while I was looking for a way to break into journalism. I have always been passionate about sport, particularly motorsport, football and tennis. My end goal would be to one day be a sports correspondent. I have lived in the Bitterne area for my whole life and attended The Sholing Technology College. I have played tennis for around 10 years at Glebian Tennis Club. I have been a Southampton FC fan my whole life and have been a season ticket holder for many years.

Ella John, 18

I live in Southampton and studied A levels in sociology, media studies and communication and culture at Barton Peveril College in Eastleigh before signing up for the Classroom in the Newsroom course. I’ve been interested in the media for several years and a journalism course fits in well with that. My dream is to become a technology reporter covering new developments and products in that sector. I created my own fashion website when I was at college as part of my media studies course. I also like travelling and have recently returned from a two-week trip to China where I studied their school system and visited Shanghai.

Lev Lourie, 18

I live in Romsey and went to school in the New Forest before studying for A levels in law, classics and English literature at Peter Symonds College in Winchester. I love meeting people and hearing their stories and that’s why I want to be a journalist. I’ve found that everyone has a story to tell. I was born in Hampshire and have been based in this area most of my life although I’ve spent periods abroad in Italy and the US. I’m someone who likes to travel but loves to come home so my ideal job would involve some working time abroad. I admire the foreign correspondents who give us the news from far-flung places and my ambition is to become one.

Daniel Massingham, 33

I have lived in and around Southampton all my life. I am a father of three boys who are my inspiration to drive forward and have a successful career in journalism. I went to Hounsdown School in Totton and from there I entered the working world with an eight-year spell in the social care sector and four years in the gardening industry. However my dream career has always been a journalist/writer. My grandfather was also a local journalist and I get great comfort in knowing I am following in his footsteps. I would like to report on public affairs be it local, national and international. I have been on the BBC’s political shows Question Time and Freespeech which only whetted my appetite for success.

Laura Sore, 23

I have lived in the Southampton area all my life. While I am interested in local stories I am particularly interested in political journalism which is why I decided to undertake a politics degree at Portsmouth University. I view the diploma as a stepping stone into the work of news and journalism, this is the area I am most interested in working in. I studied English language and government and politics at Brockenhurst College. I have always enjoyed writing and I maintain a blog that reaches a worldwide audience. I aim to write my articles in a way that I believe appeals to a broad audience but is also uniquely my own.

Ayaz Sumra, 24

I am from Newtown, St Mary’s Southampton. I attended Itchen College in Southampton where I studied A level English language, business administration and sport. Once finishing college, I took the decision to study sports journalism at University of the Arts London where I had the chance to meet people such as Arsene Wenger, Anthony Joshua, Carl Frampton, Eddie Hearn and others. It has always been my ambition to be a professional journalist with the ultimate goal of becoming a sports journalist. The main reason I would like to choose this course is because I would like to communicate as newspaper journalists and television and radio presenters do. I am mostly interested in sports and news.

Lewis Wild, 18

I have just finished two years at Barton Peveril College in Eastleigh. After completing my A levels I had the chance to weigh up the options for my future based on what I thought would be best for me and I decided on this course. I’ve known for a while that I want my future to be in the media and this has more recently become a passion for writing. At college I took English language, physical education and sociology, all of which are essay based subjects which homed in on that skill and given me a good platform to succeed in journalism. To accompany my passion for writing I have had a lifelong addiction to football; playing and watching. My goal for the future is after this course to go to university and use a degree and the skills and experience I will acquire from this coursef to get a job in the industry, preferably in sport.