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NCTJ unveils shortlist for annual excellence awards

Nick OwenMore than 220 entries to be named the best student and trainee journalists in the country at a major training conference next month have been whittled down to a final shortlist.

The National Council for the Training of Journalists has unveiled the shorlist for its its 2015 Awards for Excellence, sponsored by NFL UK.

Prizes will be handed out by BBC presenter Nick Owen, left, at a gala dinner in Birmingham next month as part of the NCTJ Journalism Skills Conference.

This year saw a record level of interest in the awards, with the highest number of entries since the awards were launched in 2008.

The awards are open to students on NCTJ-accredited courses or NCTJ distance learning courses and trainees with less than two years’ experience in journalism who have completed the Diploma in Journalism.

The list of student nominations includes representatives from a full range of NCTJ-accredited courses at universities, colleges and independent centers while trainee reporter nominations cover newspapers, magazines and broadcasters.

The shortlist is as follows:

News journalism (students)

Gabriella Lee, University of Salford
Chloe McNab, Nottingham Trent University
Andre-Rhoden Paul, University of Sheffield

News journalism (trainees)

Henry Holloway,The Argus
John Lucas, Braintree and Witham Times
Florence Snead, Cambridge News

Sports journalism (students)

Andy Donley, News Associates Manchester
Michael Hincks, News Associates Manchester
Michel Steward, St Mary’s University

Sports journalism (trainees)

Nemesha Balasundaram, Irish Post
Daniel Prince, Shields Gazette

Scoop/exclusive (students)

Leonie Chao Fong, News Associates London
Shanti Das, Brighton Journalist Works
Colan Lamont, Glasgow Caledonian University

Scoop/exclusive (trainees)

Jordan Bluer, Dover Express
Simon Murfitt, Brentwood Gazette
George Odling, Richmond and Twickenham Times

Features of the year (students)

Catrina Cochrane, Glasgow Clyde College
Robbie Gordon, University of Sheffield
Yvette Tan, University of Sheffield

Features of the year (trainees)

Naomi Firsht, Jewish Chronicle
Conor Gaffey, Newsweek Europe
Rosie Hopegood, Love Sunday Magazine and Notebook Magazine

Multimedia story/campaign of the year (students)

Sophie Grubb, University of Sheffield
Andre Rhoden-Paul, University of Sheffield

Multimedia story/campaign of the year (trainees)

Anna Bruce, Anna Bruce Photography
Sophie Mei Lan Slack, BBC Journalism Trainee Scheme

Student project of the year

Mama, University of Sheffield
The North Crowd, Teesside University
The S Word, University of Sheffield

The 2015 awards judges are:

• Laura Adams, digital editorial director, Archant London
• Brien Beharrell, vice-chairman, NCTJ
• David Brine, features editor, Daily Echo
• Clare Bouke, examiner, NCTJ
• John Burton, former sports editor, Daily Express
• Sue Campbell, director, NCTJ
• Matt Clark, publisher, The Greenwich Visitor
• Steve Dyson, media trainer and freelance journalist
• Brian Flynn, investigative journalist, The Sun
• Jamie Macaskill, deputy editor, Hull Daily Mail
• Steve Panter, former MEN reporter and journalism lecturer
• David Rowell, director, NCTJ
• Alice Ryan, head of magazines and features, Cambridge Newspapers
• Mark Thomas, former editor, Daily Post
• Laurie Tucker, day editor and journalism training, Sky Sports News
• Neil White, editor-in-chief, Derby Telegraph