The pass rate for reporters taking the National Certificate Examination has risen.

Results for the latest round of exams, taken by 200 reporters during September, show that 130 passed – increasing the pass rate by 15 per cent on the previous two sittings.

The success rate for first-timers rose to 68 per cent, compared with 38 per cent and 43 per cent in the previous two rounds of exams.

Chief examiner Steve Nelson said: "This is the highest pass rate for several years and comes at a time when the NCE has continued to evolve to meet the requirements of editors and the industry.

"These changes have included the introduction of the logbook, new requirements for the news report and the decision to allow candidates the use of a text book for newspaper practice.

"The overall results for the September sitting of the 2007 NCE are both exceptional and encouraging.

"These were excellent results and congratulations go to all those who were successful."

The interview section of the September exam required, for the first time, that candidates write copy from a breaking story for a website rather than "tomorrow's newspaper", to reflect web-first newsroom practice.

The newspaper journalism board took this step after much deliberation with 74 per cent passing this section, compared with 66 per cent in the March exam this year.

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