A journalism training partnership between Newsquest and Darlington College of Technology has achieved national recognition.

It has won the prestigious Beacon Award, which includes money for further programme development, and recognises an established training programme that demonstrates excellent results and quality delivery.

It is the first time a journalism school has received the award and won it for “delivering business excellence through further education collaboration”.

Newsquest and Darlington College’s journalism team work together on the Newsquest Diploma in Journalism, which involves a programme of initial training, workshops and refreshers for trainees.

Trainees take both the National Council for the Training of Journalists’ preliminary examinations and the National Certificate Examination during the programme, which has a first time NCE success rate for Newsquest trainees of around 90 per cent – some 50 per cent above the national benchmark.

Newsquest group editorial manager Margaret Strayton, who co-designed the programme, said: “There is no other training programme in the country getting outstanding results like these.

“It not only produces well-qualified trainees, but ones who understand the industry they are working in and who can see a real career path within Newsquest.”

Darlington’s journalism team is led by senior tutor Jon Smith, who said: “We always believed that if a newspaper group was prepared to invest real time and effort in its trainees in a well-planned programme, it would be justified by the results.

“It needs a long term commitment by newspapers and editors and an understanding of the industry by trainers to make it work. Over the three years it has been running, results have just been getting better.”

Newsquest trainees go to Darlington for an initial 20-week programme, which is designed specifically for the publishing group’s need and involves a number of add-on modules including subbing, photography, sports reporting and newspapers as a business.

Trainees then go through copy workshops and a refresher before taking the NCE. Newsquest editors take part in the programme, acting as assessors, and oversee the completion of the Diploma through a specially designed logbook.

The presentation of the award will be made in Darlington in early 2003 and at a national ceremony in May. It includes a cash award for the further development of the programme.