The National Council for the Training of Journalists has hailed the results of the first summer sitting of its senior industry exams as the most impressive of recent years.

Results released yesterday showed a total of 129 candidates sat the July National Certificate Examination at 11 centres, and 85 were successful in all four areas: news report, news interview, newspaper practice and logbook.

The overall pass rate of 66pc represents an increase on the 57pc pass rate in March, although there were fewer candidates sitting in July.

The percentage of candidates who passed newspaper practice reached a record high of 88pc, while all 65 candidates who submitted a logbook were successful – the first time a 100pc pass rate has been achieved since the logbook became an NCE requirement in 2004.

The news interview exam also featured the first ‘murder story’ in the history of the NCTJ.

Candidates spoke to a ‘police inspector’ to investigate the scenario surrounding a teenage boy stabbed to death on a street near his home.

Trainees were asked to write a story for publication on a news website, reflecting what reporters do on a daily basis in news rooms across the UK, and the chief examiner said in his report that the knife crime subject matter was particularly topical.

Candidates in the news interview paper achieved a 74pc pass rate. The examiners’ report said: “There was plenty of drama in the narrative of the attack and the best candidates brought this out.”

The summer NCE means candidates now have three opportunities to sit the exam in a year, so they can also re-take it sooner. The chief examiner said in his summary that this had helped candidates to remain focused and achieve better results.

He went on: “Although these figures are pleasing, the overall pass rate was still only 66 per cent – an increase on the results for previous years but a clear indicator that the exam continues to be a challenging test. Candidates who were successful in all four parts of the exam can be rightly proud of their achievements.”

The pass rate for the news report paper was 71pc, with 83 of the 117 candidates who sat the exam achieving success.

The full examiners’ report can be seen on www.nctj.com where a list of the candidates who passed the NCE can also be found.