A raft of bursaries has been awarded by a panel of industry experts as part of an ongoing scheme to help would-be journalists from diverse or disadvantaged backgrounsd.

The support was made available by the Journalism Diversity Fund to enable the students to complete National Council for the Training of Journalism courses.

An interview panel quizzed the successful seven candidates on “their passion for journalism, financial need and diversity.”

They landed the bursaries after impressing a board comprising of Joanne Butcher, chief executive, NCTJ; Hugh Muir, diary editor, The Guardian; Stuart Rowson, deputy editor BBC Breakfast and Laurie Tucker, day editor, Sky Sports News.

The winners were named as: Kristina Drake, Rehema Figueiredo, George Gigney, Norah Lindsay, Darius McQuaid, Keiran Southern and Mirela Vulaj.

Bursaries under the scheme are awarded four times a year to students from socially or ethnically diverse backgrounds, to help them cover the cost of course fees and living expenses.

People who want to apply should click here: www.journalismdiversityfund.com