Here’s our at-a-glance guide to each section of the test and what the examiners thought of the candidates.

News Interview

Candidates: 166
Passed: 104
Pass rate: 63pc

The News Interview centred on a fireworks display that went wrong, injuring five children, a timely scenario as the NCE was held the day after Guy Fawkes’ night.

The aim was for candidates to conduct a face-to-face interview with the chief executive of the park where the display was held and elicit enough information to write a vigorous and well-balanced story.

The senior examiner specialising for the News Interview said: “A vivid description of the sequence of events was available and many candidates drilled down in the interview to gather the facts and quotes that brought this story to life.

“The exam is, of course, all about the art of interviewing – a key skill needed by any journalist using any platform. Although the interview questioning and note-taking are not assessed, a good technique where the reporter empathises with the interviewee, invariably results in better copy.”

News Report

Candidates: 194
Passed: 109
Pass rate: 56pc

The News Report paper focused on an announcement by Network Rail that it wanted to build a high-speed railway line linking London and Scotland by 2030 and that a new rail terminus would be built in the nearby town of Fincham.

A local MP and Secretary of State for Business and Industry also announced that he/she was standing down as an MP to chair the company set up by the government to handle the project.

The chief examiner for the News Report said: “About half handled the story well, picking out the salient points and providing accurate, punchy quotes.

“Most candidates did pick-up the best quotes but they were not always handled well. In too many cases poor shorthand meant the words were distorted and often meant something entirely different in the stories presented to the examiners.

“Those who did not achieve a pass this time should keep practising their shorthand and maintain or increase their speed.”

Newspaper Practice

Candidates: 160
Passed: 106
Pass rate: 66pc Questions for Newspaper Practice focused on core areas of contempt, court restrictions and libel with confidentiality as a minor issue in the second question.

The chief examiner for Newspaper Practice said: “There were some excellent part A media law answers and for those who passed, their editors can be confident that their legal knowledge of these core areas is sound.

“However, there was some cause for concern in the answers produced for the part B, practice questions. For a number of NCE papers, there has been growing evidence of a minority of candidates being unable to formulate ideas and questions to develop their coverage of the scenarios described.”

Logbooks

Candidates: 115
Passed: 107
Pass rate: 93pc

The senior examiner for Logbooks said: “This was another good year for logbooks with candidates presenting some sparkling copy and proving that despite the pressures of the current economic environment they can be relied upon to produce reliable and entertaining submissions.

“There are still a number of fails which occur because original work is either not included on every task or that it is not verified.”

Comments

poor_hack (18/12/2009 13:46:22)
I thought the NCTJ stood for the national council for the TRAINING of journalists? Why then do they routinely pick holes in their candidates for their deficiencies yet do absolutely nothing to address those deficiencies?

Hack (18/12/2009 14:20:59)
Agreed Poor Hack – but isn’t the point that failures mean more re-sits and more ££££££££ for the ever-helpful NCTJ?

Rachel (09/09/2010 15:16:36)
This qualification is becoming increasingly ridiculous. I have now sat it four times and failed each time by less than 5 marks. The organisation are deluded if they think reporters are going to carry on with this – we are not paid very well in the first place.
A change of career becons.