100% of final year undergraduate trainees at The School of Journalism have passed their 100wpm shorthand exam.
All of the final year trainees on our first-ever undergraduate cohort studying for their NCTJ alongside their BA in Multimedia Journalism taught by News Associates – the UK’s number one NCTJ journalism school – are also on track to achieve the gold-standard qualification when they finish later this year.
100wpm is the industry-standard speed and is needed alongside A-C in all other modules to achieve the gold-standard diploma.
In previous years, the top-ranked NCTJ-accredited undergraduate degrees achieved 100wpm pass marks of 62%, 83%, 54%, 68% and 56%.
When @NewsAssociates started our undergrad programme with @TheJournoSchool some told us we wouldn’t achieve the same NCTJ results we did with our post grad trainees. Our first cohort have proved that decisively wrong. Well done them and to @AndrewGreaves84 and team. https://t.co/xUM4QP6ptN
— James Toney (@jtoneysbeat) July 7, 2020
Trainees on our undergraduate programme, run in collaboration with Marjon University, have worked hard to build up to the highly sought-after speed.
Final year trainee Lauren Dent said: “I thoroughly enjoyed shorthand. It was like learning another language for me and (luckily) I found it quite easy to grasp.
“The best part was walking out of the exam knowing confidently that ‘that was the one’, even before getting the results. That’s when you know you’ve aced it!”
But not everyone took to it like Lauren.
Been waiting a long time to tweet this… I’ve passed 100wpm Shorthand! Thank you so much to @EdwardCRoberts and @AndrewGreaves84 for all their help with it
— Luke Madeira (@lukemadeira15) June 9, 2020
“Shorthand is definitely one of the hardest challenges I’ve faced during my course,” said third year trainee Olivia Burke.
“It’s like learning another language, it took a lot of dedication and perseverance, as well as a lot of patience from my brilliant tutor, Ed.
“It’s a fundamental skill in journalism which is extremely valuable and I’m very proud to have achieved 100wpm.”
Really proud of the team! 💯🥳 https://t.co/8nAWjHnjP7
— Adam Wareing (@Adam_Wareing) July 7, 2020
Adam Wareing said: “I’d been looking forward to starting shorthand and knew how important it was, but I didn’t realise just how tough it would be.
“News Associates make it a priority, unlike most undergraduate courses, and I was constantly pushed to improve and keep fighting until I got my pass.
“I think it took me about 15 exams in the end, but the feeling of passing might even be up there with seeing the birth of my future child.
“I got there in the end, and I’m really grateful for all the support and, at times, tough love, from the News Associates team.”
Hannah Molnar said: “Shorthand was probably the hardest thing I feel I had to do for the diploma, which made it all the more satisfying once I passed it.”
News Associates head of journalism Andrew Greaves said: “We’re really proud of all our third year trainees who have worked incredibly hard to pass shorthand at the industry-standard 100wpm.
“Editors consistently tell us how important shorthand is and we know that it makes a real difference when it comes to securing jobs.
“I’m delighted that all our third years will now be going into the journalism jobs market with the required industry skills to be successful.
“Over the last three years they’ve developed into group of very talented journalists and I am sure they’ll all go onto fantastic careers.”
So incredibly proud of our @TheJournoSchool third years.
It’s our first graduating cohort and they’ve all passed their 100wpm @NCTJ_news shorthand.
A couple of things to tick off and they could ALL be gold standard! 🤞🏻🥳🥳🥳 https://t.co/EQYgXaINaG
— Andrew Greaves / @TourDeGreaves 🚴♂️ (@AndrewGreaves84) July 7, 2020
News Associates editorial development manager Lucy Dyer said: “Although some of the trainees found shorthand easier than others, none of them gave up, and it’s that attitude I am super proud of – they will go on to be amazing journalists.
“Achieving 100wpm on an undergraduate degree is notoriously hard and this class has defied the odds – but also set a precedent for future cohorts!”
To apply for our NCTJ-accredited BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism degree The School of Journalism in London, here is the UCAS codes you need:
Course code: MUJO
Institution code: P63
Campus: London (L)
Got a question? Email [email protected] and check out our other getting into journalism blogs here.
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