A record number of entrants have been whittled down to final shortlist in a bid to find the best student and trainee journalists in the country.

The National Council for the Training of Journalists has unveiled the nominations for its 2016 Awards for Excellence, which received a total of 237 entries.

The prizes will be presented by gala dinner and awards ceremony at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, pictured below, in Gosport, on 24 November.

Students on the shortlist represent the full range of NCTJ-accredited courses at universities, colleges and independent centres while trainees and apprentices are working across the media for newspapers, agencies, magazines, broadcasters and websites.

Awards will also be given to the student and trainee journalists of the year, as well as people who have achieved the best results in NCTJ examinations.

The NCTJ chairman’s award will be presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to journalism training and education.

The shortlist is as follows:

Student news journalism

Alex Grove, University of Sheffield
Sophie Hall-Richards, University of Sheffield
Katerina Tiliakou, Brunel University

Trainee news journalism

Benjamin Blosse, Hull Daily Mail
Chris Humphreys, Swindon Advertiser
Thomas Mackintosh,Crawley News

Student sports journalism

Richard Amofa, News Associates London
Luke Bidwell, University of Sunderland
Rachel Wheatley, Glyndŵr University

Trainee sports journalism

Will Kelleher, Scottish Daily Mail
Ross Lawson, Sportsbeat

Student top scoop/exclusive

Michael Cantillon, St Mary’s University
Ross Kempsell, News Associates London
Lucy Pasha-Robinson, News Associates London

Trainee top scoop/exclusive

Shanti Das, South West News Service
Chloe Farand, Ilford Recorder and Romford Recorder
Lily Waddell, Daily Star Online

Student features of the year

Gareth Evans, University of Sheffield
Estel Farell Roig, University of Sheffield
Oscar Lopez-Gibson, NCTJ distance learner

Trainee features of the year

Rosemary Cherrington, The Huffington Post
Carly Minsky, Times Higher Education
Michael Steward, Saffron Walden Reporter

Multimedia story/campaign of the year

Abi McDonald, University of Sheffield
Kate McGreavy, University of Sheffield
Rebecca Marian Miller, Bournemouth University

Student project of the year

Bold, University of Sunderland
Clyde Outside, Glasgow Clyde College
Weird and Wonderful, University of Sunderland

Apprentice of the year

John Asher, The Comet and Royston Crow
Rachel Coburn, BBC
Kirsty Hickey, Sky News
Tom Oakley, Express and Star