The Newsquest publishing group is celebrating an 85 per cent pass rate in the latest National Certificate Examination results.

The regional publisher – the UK’s second largest with more than 300 titles – had 46 trainees sitting the spring exam with 39 passing.

In addition, Newsquest trainee Alex Day, of the Kidderminster Shuttle & Times, won the Esso Award for the best report of a speech.

The Newsquest results are ahead of the NCE’s national pass rate where 135 – out of 265 candidates – passed the exam, a 51 per cent pass rate.

Newsquest now has one of the best reputations in the UK for training journalists, taking on an average of 40 ‘raw’ trainees every year.

For more than three years, the group has been working with Darlington College School of Journalism after jointly designing a 20-week course for newly recruited trainees.

The syllabus is based on the NCTJ prelims and the NCE but also includes add-ons such as basic sub-editing, photography, digital media and numeracy.

Group editorial manager Margaret Strayton, said: “We are proud of our training record and our reputation as the place to get the best journalistic training.

“Part of our pass rate success is down to the fact that all our 46 trainees attended a three-day refresher course at Darlington College in the weeks leading up to the exam.

“While we were delighted with the 73 per cent success rate in the autumn exams, it is even better news that we have now increased this to 85 per cent – further proof that our firm commitment to training is paying off.”

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