LOGBOOKS
– 140 candidates;
– 134 passed – 95 per cent

The examiners’ report:

There were 133 logbooks submitted for the first time and 127 of them passed. Seven more were re-submitted after failing in previous NCEs, and all of these passed.

The success rate reflected once again the effort put in by candidates and their trainers in newspaper offices throughout the country, where it is clear that in most cases regular inhouse assessment is now well-established. Some markers did, however, comment that the overall standard of submissions was not as high as at previous NCEs, and there were fewer logbooks receiving high marks. The examiners would stress that the high pass rates for the logbook should not encourage trainers to lower their standards.

The candidates who did not pass this time did so because they omitted evidence that they had satisfactorily completed all key tasks. Original copy was submitted that did not match the accompanying cuttings. Some failed to provide original copy for one or more tasks, despite the examiners’ repeated insistence that they must be able to see what candidates actually wrote rather than merely what appeared after subbing.

Another problem for those who failed was submitting inadequate stories. One, claiming to demonstrate numeracy, contained only a single figure. The second, submitted in the Community section, was merely a vox pop of fans’ views about a football match as they left the stadium.

The majority of candidates are now doing the revised version of the logbook and few appeared to have problems handling the new Human Interest, Community and Trainee’s Choice key tasks. The examiners were pleased to see that, for the first time, all candidates from Scotland succeeded in fulfilling the requirements for Key Task 7 (stories from fatal accident inquiries or the Scottish Parliament).

Candidates and trainers are urged to take note of the current guidelines on logbook presentation and submission (available on the nctj.com website).

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