A UNIVERSITY of Worcester lecturer has been accepted as a Senior Fellow of the prestigious Higher Education Academy, the national body which champions teaching excellence.

Claire Wolfe, principal lecturer in journalism, has overseen the development of a highly successful BA(Hons) Journalism course, which has also achieved Broadcast Journalism Training Council accreditation.

The course has a strong web and magazine production strand and is designed to blend theoretical and practical teaching elements.

The course has helped graduates embark on a range of careers including going on to work on local, regional and national publications, the BBC, Channel 4 and a range of websites and magazines.

The latest official Unistats figures show 100 per cent were in work six months after graduating, with 75 per cent in a professional or managerial position.

Ms Wolfe was previously a successful newspaper and magazine editor, and is in the 10th year at the university.

Ms Wolfe said: "I feel honoured to be accepted as a Senior Fellow of the Academy and will continue to aim high and to inspire students and staff alike through example.

“A hallmark of the course is to help young people develop their talents and to have a range of knowledge and skills that enable them to enter a range of professions including journalism, social media management, PR and communications and copywriting.”

The Worcester News has previously reported on third year University of Worcester student Kathryn Emerson beating off industry professionals to scoop the Magazine of the Year Award in the Midlands Media Awards (MMA) in November 2017.

The current MMA student award winner is graduate Conor Rees, who turned entrepreneur to develop his submission into an inspirational magazine called 99 Percent Lifestyle.