SunSport Diversity Scholarship

The Sun has partnered with London press agency Sportsbeat to offer a 40-week scholarship worth £7,500 to a diverse student from one of London’s six Olympic Boroughs.

The successful applicant will study the NCTJ-accredited course at News Associates in Wimbledon and also spend one day a week on The Sun’s sports desk. If they pass all their exams, they will be offered a six-week paid internship with Sportsbeat followed by a three-month paid internship with SunSport.

The scholarship provides the opportunity for a budding journalist, unable to afford the course fees, to study the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism and pursue their dream of becoming a journalist. 

Any resident from the Olympic Boroughs of Hackney, Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, Newham or Waltham Forest can apply.

The judging panel from The Sun and Sportsbeat will be looking for candidates who can demonstrate they have the potential to make a great journalist as well as explaining how their background would bring diversity into the newsroom. Applicants must have a minimum of two A-levels or equivalent.

Dominic Mohan, editor of The Sun, said: “We are delighted to be involved in this project which offers an excellent journalistic opportunity and builds on the London 2012 Olympic legacy.”

Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the National Council for the Training of Journalists, added: “This scholarship is a wonderful idea which will give someone an opportunity to break into the exciting world of sports journalism while experiencing at first-hand how the sports desk of a national newspaper works.

“I welcome the initiative by The Sun and Sportsbeat to help widen the diversity of journalism trainees.”

The application process opens on February 1, 2013 with a deadline of April 30, 2013. Application forms are available by emailing sunscholarship@sportsbeat.co.uk.

The NCTJ also administers the Journalism Diversity Fund, which provides funding for diverse students looking to complete the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism. Please see the website for further details.