The number of trainee journalists sitting the National Certificate Examination continues to fall as the recession impacts on recruitment.

In November, just 86 candidates sat the gold standard industry exam compared to 209 in the same month of 2009 and down from the 117 trainees at the last sitting in July.

But pass rates for the exam remain strong at 62pc, with 53 candidates being awarded the certificate for success in the four areas of News Interview, News Report, Newspaper Practice and Logbook.

This is almost identical to the last sitting which had a pass rate of 63pc and is significantly up on last November’s 51pc success rate.

The chief examiner said: “The smaller entry was expected as the impact of the recession continued to have an effect on recruitment in the industry.”

According to the National Council for the Training of Journalists, the registration of trainees has increased in recent months but entry levels for the NCE are not expected to return to their previous levels for some time, because of the minimum 18-month period before it can be sat.

Pass rates for the individual sections were: News Interview 74pc, News Report 67pc, Newspaper Practice 80pc, Logbook 93pc.

The exam was sat on 5 November at seven centres across the country.

The successful candidates, in alphabetical order by surname, were as follows:

David Arnold, Brentwood Gazette
Emma Bartholomew, Hackney Gazette
Karen Britton, Wilmslow Express
Lewis Brown, Chichester Observer
Abigail Buxton, Leek Post & Times
Sheena Campbell, Worthing Herald
Pippa Chambers, Weston Mercury
Jennifer Coles, Freelance
David Coulter, Hexham Courant
Elinor Cross, Northants Evening Telegraph
Paul Crute, Times & Star
Cerri Delaney, Lincolnshire Echo
Katherine Elliot, DNG Media
Rebecca Evans, The Argus
Alex Gore, Reading Chronicle
Belinda Hargreaves, Leek Post & Times
Victoria Henderson, Northern Echo
Ryan Hooper, Western Morning News
Dominic Howell, Cornish Guardian
Katri Iivonen, The Cornishman
Melanie Jago, Cornish Guardian
Maxwell Kusi-Obodum, Reading Chronicle
Nicholas Lakin, Lancaster Guardian
Adam Lazzari, Eastern Daily Press
Ruth Lognonne, Hexham Courant
Daniel Mansfield, Ely Standard
Ruth Mansfield, South Wales Argus
Rory McKeown Bridgwater Mercury
Steven Nolan, Luton Herald & Post
Maximillian Orbach, Evening Echo, Basildon
Elizabeth Parry, East Anglian Daily Times
Sarah Payne, Boston Target
Sarah Poole, Bury Times
Michael Powell, The News, Portsmouth
Jenna Richards, Herald Express
Sukran Sahin, Barking & Dagenham Post
Alison Sanders, South Wales Argus
Alison Sandilands, Horncastle News
Ruth Scammell, The News, Portsmouth
Luke Sellers, The Forester
Mark Shields, Hunts Post
Hannah Smith, Freelance
Peter Smith, Leek Post & Times
Helen Steel, Blackpool Gazette
Gael Stigant, Barnsley Chronicle
Katie Storey, Rochdale Observer
Claudia Tanner, Hull Daily Mail
Christopher Thomas, East Kent Gazette
Caroline Tilley, Harwich & Manningtree Standard
Natalie Walker, Lancashire Publications
Robert Warlow, Newbury Weekly News
Frederick Whittaker, The Citizen, Gloucester
James Williams, Wiltshire Times