LOGBOOK
155 candidates
148 passed

Overall there were no major trends with the logbooks from this session but there are some key points which should be made both to trainees and their trainers before they submit their logbooks in future.

Presentation was a key area of concern and it is the easiest to get right. It is important in logbooks for two reasons; it is important for journalists to show that they have the ability to follow instructions clearly and are able to organise their work in a way which shows order and clarity.

This was not the case with a number of logbooks which had key tasks in the wrong order, some information missing or which were just plain messy. Making a good impression is important.

Another example of failing to follow clear instructions came in some key tasks which were clearly not appropriate submissions. One which was presented actually mirrored the example given for a submission which would not be deemed suitable.

Generally, there were no major issues with any key tasks, but numeracy is still an area where trainees must be sure they have given a suitable submission while writing to pictures is another area where there were some low marks.

In conclusion, these were a good selection of logbooks, showing that candidates are able to reach the required standard. However, if any lesson is to be taken from this, it would be that both trainees and their trainers do need to be absolutely sure that their submissions match what is expected in the key tasks and that they have made their logbook as neat and ordered as they can.

If there are any questions regarding this then the NCTJ examiners are always here to help and in true journalistic style it is better to make an extra call just to be sure of being correct rather than facing major changes on deadline!