Exeter College: UAL Diploma

In September 2024, I started my journey at Exeter College, working towards a UAL Extended Diploma in Journalism.So far, I have covered an introduction to journalism, TV and Radio news, magazine and photojournalism, and a have created an essay on issues within modern journalism.My first year consisted of learning the basics about Journalism, and understanding how to create a news story. I learned different terms such as hard and soft news, and the inverted pyramid. I spent the year creating a radio news package in collaboration with The BBC, and worked with Devon and Cornwall Police to create social media content on issues within society. I also had the opportunity to develop and grow my Magazine production skills with Adobe InDesign and Photoshop.Towards the end of the year, I produced a TV News Broadcast for my Final Major Project. This was a 13 week project that involved extensive amounts of research, planning and production. Living in the South West, I decided to dedicate his programme to stories of Devon and Cornwall. I created three stories about the safety and security of the area for locals, and for younger people. I conducted large amounts of research into various areas including investigative journalism, the BBC and their journalists and presenters, TV News, legal and ethical considerations in journalism, technical requirements to make a programme, and my target audience for my programme. Inspired by the BBC News at Six, I wanted to create something professional and compelling for my audience. I also spent a lot of time in the college's TV Studio, and editing my programme with motion graphics and other animations in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. Towards the end of the project, I had to evaluate all of this work, listing what worked well, what didn't work well and how I could improve my work in the future.View my Final Major Project - Year 1My second year at college consisted of only 4 different units, as opposed to 6 in the first year. We started the year off by creating a Documentary about a topic of our choosing. In a group, myself, Isla McGuinness and Evie Mincher worked with Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue service to create a programme dedicated on becoming an on-call firefighter, to try and persuade more members of the public to sign up. We worked on producing an essay on issues in modern journalism, to give us some academic work to show off, and prepare us for the research sides of our final major project. We created a TV News Package, in collaboration with The BBC again, and worked on our university applications and post-college steps throughout the course of the year.On 12 May 2026, I presented The Devon Debrief to my class as part of my final major project! The Devon Debrief is a radio news programme targeted towards teenagers and younger adults, inspired by BBC Newsbeat. This programme took a few months to properly plan and produce, with an 18-thousand-word research portfolio, and interviews with experts and professionals in different areas. Working on a Radio Programme was both a blessing and a challenge, having experience with some brilliant experts at Radio Exe, and having to navigate the challenges of using Adobe Audition and creating my own radio jingles. My feedback from peers and teachers was incredibly positive, with some areas that I could work on to improve my work further. I'm incredibly proud of the end product, and am delighted to share it with you.I submitted my final major project on 20 May.View my Final Major Project - Year 2

Radio Exe: NCTJ Certificate

My work in journalism and broadcast media began in 2023 during a week's work experience with a local radio station in Exeter. Ever since then, I have grown a passion for news presenting. It's a goal of mine to present the BBC News at Ten and help to deliver both impartial and trustworthy news to the population of the UK.In my first year of college, I became a student journalist for the station to help develop my journalism skills alongside my college studies. This gave me the opportunity to create content both for the Radio Exe website and hourly news bulletins on air. Along with this, I am given weekly homework to complete to a strict deadline, consisting of spelling tests, media law work, interviews and written work, all to help increase my skills across Journalism.Working at Radio Exe has allowed me to progress on my writing and speaking skills in Journalism, recording weekly community news for Plymouth, and writing crime stories for the Radio Exe website.

In January 2025, I was registered into the NCTJ Level 3 qualification through RadioExe, a local radio station in Devon. Learners must achieve a minimum of 25 credits in order to complete the qualification. This includes 14 credits from a group of mandatory modules, and a minimum of 11 credits from a selection of optional units.I began to study a range of mandatory modules in the NCTJ including Gathering Information, How to tell a news story, Recording information, Legal and Ethical considerations for journalists, and Writing for digital media. Along with this, I also chose to study Using Audio to Tell a News Story, and How Society Works. These modules all gave me a strong foundation into the world of Journalism, growing my skills in interviews, presenting, writing and recording information. Since starting the NCTJ, I have completed a variety of Interviews, podcasts, and news articles to help me work on my journalistic abilities.I completed the course in May 2026.

On the 29 January 2026, I completed an e-learning course on Court Reporting Restrictions with the NCTJ. Overall, the course went over the different reporting restrictions that journalists would encounter in the Criminal Courts, and covered some areas in the Court of Appeal and Inquests. This small, but valuable, chunk of time dedicated to going through the course will be incredibly beneficial to me as I continue to develop my crime and court reporting skills.

About me

I am an aspiring news presenter and legal affairs correspondent with a love for court reporting!
I have just finished working towards a UAL Extended Diploma and NCTJ qualification in Journalism at Level 3.After finding my passion in broadcasting during a week's work experience with Radio Exe in 2023, I have been set on becoming a journalist specialising in crime, court, and legal affairs. I also have a passion to become a newsreader. With an interest in crime, I hope to report on the latest criminal news across the country with an impartial outlook on my work.My work in College and at Radio Exe have drastically increased my journalism skills and capabilities, developing areas such as presenting, writing, interviewing, and researching content. Since September 2024, I have collected a wide range of interviews, presented two radio programmes and a TV News programme, created a magazine, written a variety of news articles, and created Voicers for Radio Exe. My next goals will be to begin working towards live bulletins to go out on Radio Exe, and to work on my second year of college, focussing on TV News.Between 2016 and 2024, I have managed and created content for my YouTube Channel. I began my channel after falling in love with content creation, and have worked my way from not knowing how to record my screen, to being able to confidently use Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. My time on social media has given me the confidence to talk to a camera and write scripts for my videos.