The pass rate for journalists sitting the National Certificate Examination is up by 10pc compared to the same time last year – with 62pc of trainees achieving passes.

A total of 79 candidates sat the exam on 4 March at eight centres across the UK, with 49 of them gaining senior status.

The results remain consistent with those last November where there was also a pass rate of 62pc but are significantly higher than the 52pc in March last year.

The National Council for the Training of Journalists has also highlighted the increased pass rate in those sitting the industry ‘gold standard’ exam for the first time.

It says 32 of the 51 first-timers for the NCE were successful – a rate of 63pc compared to 44pc of candidates in this group last March.

The training body said there were fewer entries as expected for the exam this time, in line with the downturn of recruitment in the industry two years ago.

But it adds there has been a 50pc increase in the registration of trainees in the last six months, compared to the same period in 2009/10 – signalling a possible return to previous numbers.

The full list of successful candidates was:

Rob Alderson, Hastings & St. Leonards Observer
Hannah Baker, Telegraph & Argus
Jessica Best, South Wales Argus
David Blackwood, Fife Free Press
Louise Brown The Extra
Helen Buckingham, Northampton Chronicle & Echo
Rebecca Cain, Bucks Free Press
Alexander Campbell, Express & Star
Gemma Casey, Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard
Stephen Christie, Press & Journal
Stephanie Cockroft, North Devon Journal
Lawrence Dunhill, Bucks Free Press
Harriet Ernstsons, Redditch Standard
Sam Forrester, Western Gazette
Martin Green, Essex Chronicle
Melanie Hall, Surrey Advertiser
David Anthony Hepburn, Kirkintilloch Herald
Melissa Hills, Thurrock Gazette
Dawn Louise Hinsley, Lincolnshire Echo
Megan Horner, Rutland and Stamford Mercury
Daniel Howlett, Northern Echo
Aisha Iqbal, Yorkshire Evening Post
Robert Kelly, Chorley and Leyland Guardian
Benjamin Kenyon, Burnley Express
Jon Livesey, Lancashire Telegraph
Adam Lovell, Hull Daily Mail
Irene MacKinnon, Linlithgow Journal and Gazette
Jennifer Maxfield, Henley Standard
Frances McElhone, Express & Echo, Exeter
Gavin Moore, Advertiser & Review
Ben Morgan, Dewsbury Reporter
Amy Morrish, Rutland and Stamford Mercury
Suzanne Norbury, Somerset Guardian
Laura Payne, The Observer Series
Lucy Jane Pearce, Dorset Echo
Sharon Pell, Spalding Guardian
Miranda Prynne, Hull Daily Mail
Eleanor Radford, The Herald, Plymouth
Jonathan Reilly, Herald & Post, Northants
Kelly Smale, News Shopper
Rebekah Ann Smith, Stratford-upon-Avon Herald
Ross Thomson, Carluke Gazette
Kate Elizabeth Turner, Lancashire Telegraph
David John Wade, Ilkeston Advertiser
Charlotte Wareing, Chorley and Leyland Guardian
Rachel Wearmouth, Northern Echo
Sam Williams, Eastern Daily Press
Sean Wozencroft, Newport Advertiser
Richard Young, The Comet