Nottingham Trent University has been named the country’s top journalism training school for 2014 as the National Council for the Training of Journalists handed out its annual awards for the best-performing courses and students.

Eleven talented journalists and photographers from across the UK were presented with their NCTJ Awards for Excellence at the Journalism Skills Conference in Sheffield last night.

BBC sports presenter and former University of Sheffield student Dan Walker announced the winners to an audience of journalists, editors and tutors at Sheffield City Hall.

The Football Focus presenter said: “All of the winners have impressed our expert judges with the quality of their work. Indeed, everyone who was shortlisted in this year’s awards should be very proud of their achievements.”

Top prize in the  trainee reporter of the year category went to Paul Berentzen of the Blackpol Gazette, who previously scooped three out of the four awards available for exceptional performance in the July NQJ exams.

Paul, pictured above, studied his diploma at News Associates in Manchester and is now crime reporter at the Gazette.

Douglas Faulkner-Gawlinksi, who recently completed a fast-track course in multimedia journalism at Press Association Training Newcastle, won the student journalist of the year award.

Douglas passed all his NCTJ exams in the first sitting with top grades and is now working at the Eastern Daily Press in Norfolk.

Nottingham Trent University scored a double success with two of its accredited courses topping the tables in the NCTJ’s annual course provider awards.

The courses were presented with awards for the highest percentage of students achieving the NCTJ gold standard: A-C grade passes in all exams plus 100 words per minute shorthand.

Nottingham Trent’s MA course saw 83pc of its students achieve the gold standard and was named the best course overall, while its BA honours in news journalism topped the undergraduate table with 49 pc of students reaching the gold standard qualification.

Tracey Powell, who joined the college last year having previously been editor of the Mansfield Chad, collected the award from Dan and David Tossell of NCTJ sponsors NFL UK.

A special award was made to former Archant Norfolk news chief Paul Durrant, now working in journalism training with his old company and the NCTJ.

 He was honoured with the 2014 NCTJ Chairman’s Award for his outstanding contribution to journalism training and education.

NCTJ chairman Kim Fletcher praised Paul as “a mentor and inspiration to so many trainees, junior and senior journalists and editors” who described him as “simply the best news editor in the business”.

Kim added: “Paul is someone who brings out the best in people. People who nominated him include those who say without him they wouldn’t have turned from inexperienced young trainees into decent journalists.”

The full list of winners was:

Trainees

Trainee journalist of the year – Paul Berentzen, News Associates/Blackpool Gazette

News journalism – Jonathan Robinson, Lancashire Telegraph

Sports journalism  – Gavin Caney, Eastern Daily Press

Features – Louis Emanuel, Bristol Post  

Scoop – Chris Dyer, Essex Chronicle

Students

Student journalist of the year – Douglas Faulkner-Gawlinski, PA Training Newscastle/Eastern Daily Press

News journalism – Ben Fishwick, Highbury College, Portsmouth/The News, Portsmouth.

Sports journalism – Brogan Amelia Kay-Jessop, University of Portsmouth/The Guardian

Features – Rosanna Austin, Radio Aire, Leeds

Scoop – Thomas Jenkin, Nottingham Trent University

Photography – Ian Hinchcliffe, Sheffield College/Southern Daily Echo

Multimedia story/campaign – Catrina Cochrane, Glasgow Clyde College  

Student publication – Amigo, University of Central Lancashire

Courses

Best MA course – Nottingham Trent University

Best BA course – Nottingham Trent University

Best accredited fast-track course at FE college – Harlow College

Best academic year course at FE college – City of Wolverhampton College 

Best independent fast-track course – News Associates, London