The pass rate for journalists sitting the National Certifcate Examination has risen by 10pc year-on-year – but fewer journalists are sitting the exam as the industry contracts.

July saw the lowest entry for the gold standard industry exam for a number of years, the National Council for the Training of Journalists said today.

The chief examiner said the figures showed the impact that the recession has had on recruitment in the industry.

A total of 117 candidates sat the exam in July compared to 199 in the same month of 2009. However the pass rate rose from 53pc last year to 63pc this time round – the highest since March 2008.

To gain the NCE, trainees have to be successful in all four papers – news report, news interview, newspaper practice and logbook.

Of the 117 who sat the exam, held on 2 July across 11 centres, 74 were awarded senior status.

Pass rates for the individual sections were: News Report 66pc, News Interview 70pc, Newspaper Practice 75pc, Logbook 100pc.

Said the chief examiner: “Overall, this was a very encouraging set of results, in difficult times when training resources may have come under pressure in many newspaper offices.”

The papers submitted for the newspaper practice area of the exam were singled out for special praise by the examiners.

“The overall standard for the newspaper practice exams was very high indeed, with some of the best papers examiners have seen in a long time,” they said.

In their report, the examiners also commented on the “very bright and capable young journalists who do their titles credit.”

The next NCE for reporters will take place on Friday 5 November. Enrolment forms for those wishing to sit the exam must completed by 1 October.

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

Bethany Abbit, Westmorland Gazette
Rosalind Ball, Romford Recorder
Natalie Banks, Chorley Guardian
Jessica Beckett, Oldham Advertiser
Alex Bell, Rossendale Free Press
Katie Bond, Wiltshire Gazette & Herald
Stephen Briggs, Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Michael Brown, Lincolnshire Echo
James Burton, Herts & Essex Observer
John Connell, West Cumberland Times & Star
Rosemary Davenport, Freelance
Gareth Davies, Croydon Advertiser
Matthew Davis, Stockport Express & Times
Nicholas Edmondson, Henley Standard
Sophie Edwards, Echo, Basildon
Sarah Evans, Stratford Herald
Jessica Forster, Sunderland Echo
Zara Gaspar, Freelance
Julie Gilbert, Clydebank Post/Dumbarton Reporter
Stefan Gordon, Sidmouth Herald
Shona Gossip, Press and Journal, Aberdeen
Amy Gray, Eastern Daily Press
Stephen Hackwell, Gloucestershire Echo
Emma Haines, Cornish Guardian
Mary Hamilton, Eastern Daily Press
Paul Harper, North Devon Journal
Declan Harte, Press and Journal, Aberdeen
Paul Harvey, Accrington Observer
Steven Hayes, Leamington Spa Observer
Arron Hendy, Dorset Echo
Liam Hoden, South Yorkshire Times
Becky Hotchin, Western Telegraph
Anwen Humfrey, Western Telegraph
Katherine Islip, Southend Evening Echo
Christopher Jones, Derby Telegraph
Jonathan Kearney, Freelance
Thomas Knight, Western Gazette
Cheryl Latham, Stockport Express & Times
Kate Liptrot, Doncaster Free Press
James Maden, Southern Daily Echo
Emma Mason, Fenland Citizen
Michaela Maunders, Brighouse Echo
Selina Maycock, Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph
Kimberly Middleton, West Briton
Olivia Midgley, Spenborough Guardian
Vita Millers, Surrey Advertiser
Stacey Mullen, Motherwell Times
Jennifer Nuttall, East Grinstead Courier
Nazia Parveen, Lancashire Telegraph
Hayley Paterson, Doncaster Free Press
Emily Pearce, Isle of Wight County Press
Juliet Perry, Eastbourne Herald
Samuel Pinnington, Newport Advertiser
Thais Portilho-Shrimpton, Epsom Guardian
Adam Raistrick, Mansfield Chad
James Riley, Lytham St Annes Express
Gillian Roberts, Llanelli Star
Louise Robertson, Surrey Comet
Ben Russell, Redditch Advertiser
Gurpreet Samrai, Slough & Royal Borough Observer
Sundari Sankar, Leamington Spa Courier
Sam Satchell, East Grinstead Courier
Paul Smith, Grimsby Telegraph
Stephanie Steward, Tameside Reporter
Philippa Stewart, Lincolnshire Echo
Steven Thompson, Bolton News
Sarah Webb, The Citizen, Gloucester
Kate Weir, Tameside Advertiser
Pamela Welsh, Salford Advertiser
Richard Wheeler, Lincolnshire Echo
Vikki White, Hull Daily Mail
Paul Whyatt, Derby Telegraph
Kayley Worsley, Barnsley Chronicle
Susannah Wright, South Manchester Reporter

Comments

Sucked in? (13/08/2010 11:07:39)
The term ‘gold standard’ is something the NCTJ and its spin doctors use to describe their exams and is not a legal, or even, recognised term within the journalism industry to describe the National Certificate Examination which should be described thus: The National Certificate Examination. Just thought I should point it out seeing as HTFP appears to have overlooked the spin!!