Every student aged 14–17, in pre-university education, is welcome to apply to join Harbingers’ Magazine. Please keep in mind that Harbingers’ writers are held to the higest standard of professionalism — as we are a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), your writing has to meet the same criteria as that of the journalists writing to The Times or
Learning journalism as a teenager requires commitment. That’s why at Harbingers’ Academy, we designed two ‘career paths’ — a four-year programme for writers, and two-year for editors — which takes you from the very beginning all the way to the Editorial Board. As we know that students are busy, our courses were designed to require one 50-minute session a week, and similar amount of time to complete assignments.
Writer’s path
The cornerstone of work with all Harbingers’ writers is that you decide on the what you do want to write about, and we’ll bring in the how, so help you approach the subject competently and build competence in both journalism and the subject you are interested in. In every case, your articles will be edited — by the members of the Editorial Board, whenever possible — proofread and proficiently illustrated before being published in Harbingers’ Magazine.
You’ll be recognised as a Contributor if you want to write a few articles, or have joined Harbingers’ by participating in our Open Workshops scheme. For Contributors, there’s no long-term commitment required — just an interest in journalism and a story to tell. You might join as a Contributor mid-year or to test whether journalism is something you’d be interested in doing regularly.
A Junior Writer (Level 1) title is awarded to those who enrol to our entry-level Introduction to Journalism (ETJ) online course, equipping you with the foundation in journalism. Between September and June, you will aim to publish ten articles, averaging 400 words — including the one that you will prepare without the instructor’s support, as s the year’s final test. Completion of this level allows you to enrol to the Writer programme.
Introduction to Journalism (ETJ) is recommended to students aged 14/15 (Year 10 in the UK, Grade 9/freshman in the US). Learn more.
A Writer (Level 2) title is awarded to those who join the Essential Journalism (ESJ) online course, which will teach you intermediary journalism formats. Between September and June, you will aim to publish ten articles, averaging 650 words — including the one that you will prepare without the instructor’s support, as the year’s final test. As a Writer, you might add the Correspondent title and join the Editor’s Path (see below). Completion of this level allows you to enrol to the Senior Writer programme.
Essential Journalism (ESJ) is recommended to students aged 15/16 (Year 11 in the UK, Grade 10/sophomore in the US). Learn more.
A Senior Writer (Level 3) title is awarded to those who join our advanced online course, the Writer’s Programme (TWP), adding complex formats to your journalism portfolio. Between September and June, you will aim to publish ten articles, averaging 750 words — including one unsupervised, time-sensitive reporting piece as a final practical test. As a Senior Writer, you might carry the Correspondent title and become the Section’s Editor. Completion of this level allows you to enrol to the Columnist programme.
The Writer’s Programme (TWP) is recommended to students aged 16/17 (Year 12 in the UK, Grade 11/junior in the US). Learn more.
The highest Columnist (Level 4) title is awarded to those who have completed the advanced course and want to continue writing for Harbingers’ in their last year before university. Columnists have few limitations. You can use all the skills you have mastered over the years to contribute with independently penned op-eds, use your sessions to record and edit What We’ll Change podcasts, or pursue Investigative Journalism — it’s all up to you. All Section Editors are Columnists — but not all columnists are editors.
The Columnist Programme (TCP) is availiable to students aged 17/18 (Year 13 in the UK, Grade 12/senior in the US). Learn more.
Editor’s path
The Editorial Board is the backbone of Harbingers’ Magazine — they commision articles, evaluate pitches and edit articles before they are received by the Publishing Team. It’s the Editors who decide what is published and when.
Editor (Level 1) — High-performing Writers might be invited to join the Editor’s Programme (TEP), which runs from March until March, and teaches evaluating and answering pitches, fact-checking, deciding between requesting changes from writers and editing for publication, and making necessary changes before publication without interfering with the author’s concept. Editors report to Section Editors. Completion of this level might result with an invitation to become the Section Editor.
The Editor’s Programme (TEP) is availiable to Writers undergoing the Essential Journalism course.
Section Editor (Level 2) — High-performing Editor might be selected to take responsiblity for an entire section, and enter the Commisioning Editor’s Programme (TSP). The Section Editor, typically in the last year before university, coordinates the work of their section and commisiones articles from Harbingers’ writersis to offers a diverse, up-to-date, and relevant selection of articles, anwering the needs of the magazine’s global teenage audience.
The Section Editor’s Programme (TSP) is availiable to Editors
Editor-in-chief (Level 3) – Each year, one exceptional teenager is awarded the title of the Editor-in-chief. They are responsible for the entire magazine, from coordinating the work of the Editorial Board, to finalising weekly publication plans and delivering Harbingers’ editorials. The editor-in-chief also represents the magazine outside. The Editor-in-chief receives bespoke guidance.
Additional possiblities
Accelerated programme — students can complete the Junior Writer and Writer programmes in one year, with two 50-minute sessions weekly. Combined Writer and Senior Writer into one year is not advised, but requests are reviewed on case-by-case basis.
Additional sessions — students requiring additional support can request additional sessions.
Correspondent — students particularly interested in a given subject might decide to become a Correspondent, providing in-depth coverage of their subject area by coordinating their weekly Harbingers’ Academy journalism sessions with an additional session with an expert. Additional sessions can be arranged by the Harbingers’ Academy or externally.
Multimedia creator — we do our best to include Photojournalism, the What We’ll Change podcast and other multimedia forms in our programmes, and working with the camera is a signifiant part of our attended courses (summer newsrooms and reporting trips). You might request those, subject to availiability.
Level one: Junior Writer
Recommended to students aged 14/15 (Year 10 in the UK, Grade 9/freshman in the US). September to June, one 50-minute workshop session a week, and another hour required to complete assingments. Recommended English level is IELTS 6.0 and above, with at least 5.5 in Writing. No other requirements.
A Junior Writer title is awarded to those who enrol to the Introduction to Journalism online course. This programme draws from experiences of Harbingers’ Academy instructors — years ago, before going into professional journalism, we all wrote for school newspapers, had blogs, or tried to get likes on Facebook with wordy social media posts. Writing driven by our interests and hobbies through trial and error allowed us to develop our writing skills to a degree that allowed us to join a professional editorial.
The Introduction to Journalism programme focuses on connecting your interests with writing in English and foundational journalistic skills: identifing a subject that matters for your audience, translating an idea into a pitch, reseaching, expressing thoughts effectively and coherently in writing. The plan is to build a strong foundation in writing through a variety of formats relevant to modern digital media.
Over the course of the academic year, you will aim to publish ten articles (averaging 400 words) — including one as the year’s final, practical test. You can also be invited to take part in the What We’ll Change podcast project.
[LEARN MORE]
Accelerated programme — students above the recommended age can complete the Junior Writer and Writer programmes in one year, with two 50-minute sessions weekly.
Additional sessions — students requiring additional support can request additional one-to-one sessions.
Level two: Writer
Recommended to students aged 15/16 (Year 11 in the UK, Grade 10/sophomore in the US). September to June, one 50-minute workshop session a week, and another hour required to complete assingments. Recommended English level is IELTS 6.5 and above, with at least 6.0 in Writing. Requires completing Level one: Junior Writer.
A Writer title is awarded to those who enrol to the Essential Journalism course. This programme was created for students who have already built a foundation in writing and are ready to take the next step: learning how to report, argue, and tell stories like a journalist. At this stage, we focus on precision, structure, and clarity — skills our editors use every day. Drawing on our experiences in newsrooms and digital media, we’ve designed a course that brings real editorial work to the youngest of adults.
The Essential Journalism course gives students hands-on experience with key formats in journalism, focusing on Reporting, Opinion, and foundation Feature writing. Organised into modules, the programme covers the editorial process, ethical standards, sourcing techniques, structuring articles, and developing a distinct journalistic voice. You can also be invited to take part in creating an episode of What We’ll Change podcast project as a host or producer.
Over the course of the academic year, you will aim to publish ten articles (averaging 600 words) — including one as the year’s final, practical test (students taking GCSEs are allowed to take the test in August).
[LEARN MORE]
Editor — the Editorial Board changes every year, on March 1, when our most senior students depart to prepare for university. During your second year, you might be invited to join the Editorial Board as an Editor. This will add one 50-minute session weekly to your schedule (for details, see the Editor section below).
Correspondent — students particularly interested in a given subject might decide to become a Correspondent, providing multi-faceted coverage of their subject area by coordinating Harbingers’ Academy journalism sessions with sessions with an expert. Additional sessions can be arranged by the Harbingers’ Academy or externally.
On Level two,
Level three: Senior Writer
Recommended to students aged 16/17 (Year 12 in the UK, Grade 11/junior in the US). September to June, one 50-minute workshop session a week, and another hour required to complete assingments. Recommended English level is IELTS 7.0 and above, with at least 6.5 in Writing. Requires completing Level two: Writer.
A Senior Writer title is awarded to those who enrol to the Writer’s Programme, our advanced course designed for students who already have full command of standard reporting, opinion and feature writing, and can move to more complex tasks — especially time-sensitive reporting, writing analytical journalism pieces and conducting interviews. We focus on delivering diverse portfolio of quality writing on strict deadlines, explaining complex issues for Harbingers’ audience, conducting interviews with various stake
The Writer’s Programme concludes , students The Essential Journalism course gives students hands-on experience with key formats in journalism, focusing on Reporting, Opinion, and foundation Feature writing. Organised into modules, the programme covers the editorial process, ethical standards, sourcing techniques, structuring articles, and developing a distinct journalistic voice. You can also be invited to take part in creating an episode of What We’ll Change podcast project as a host or producer.
Over the course of the academic years, you will deliver on average ten articles (averaging 700 words) — including one time-sensitive reporting piece as a final practical test.
[LEARN MORE]
Section Editor —the Editorial Board changes every year, on March 1, when our most senior students depart to prepare for university. You might be invited to join the Editorial Board as a Section Editor. This will add one 50-minute session weekly to your schedule (for details, see the Editor section below).
On level three, Correspondent, Additional sessions apply. The Accelerated programme is not advised, but request will be reviewed on case-by-case basis.
Level four: Columnist
Recommended to students aged 17/18 (Year 13 in the UK, Grade 12/senior in the US). September to March, one workshop session a week, and another hour required to complete assingments. Recommended English level is IELTS 7.5 and above, with at least 7.0 in Writing. Requires completing Level three: Senior Writer.
All Section Editors are Columnists.
*Addtional clas
, enhancing the understanding of students can enrol in our Introduction to Journalism programme and become Junior Writers. This programme is designed to be completed over one school year (September to June), with one session each week. During this time, Junior Writers typically produce up to ten articles. At the end of the year, passing the final exam earns them the title of Writer. [LEARN MORE]
In Year Two (usually Year 11 in the UK), Writers can continue their development through the Essential Journalism programme. This course runs for a full academic year and includes focused lessons and workshops on Reporting, Opinion Writing, and Feature Writing (Explainer). Successful completion of the final exam leads to a promotion to Senior Writer.
In Year Three (usually Year 12 in the UK), Senior Writers can take part in the Writer’s Programme, a 6-month-long course that builds on all previous skills. It introduces more advanced forms of Feature Writing (Interview and Analysis) along with Time-sensitive Reporting. Completion of this programme prepares participants to step into editorial roles within the magazine.