A record-breaking proportion of candidates have achieved senior status after sitting the National Qualification in Journalism, the latest results have revealed.
In all, 51 of the 69 journalists who sat last month’s exams are now seniors after passing – representing 74pc of candidates who sat the exam at eight different centres.
It is the highest pass rate in the 10 sittings since the NQJ was introduced three years ago to replace the National Certificate in Journalism (NCE).
The previous record of 72pc was equalled at the March 2015 sitting, having been set the previous July.
NCTJ chief examiner Steve Nelson said: “The pass rate had dipped to 61 per cent in both of the previous two sittings, so I am delighted to see this improvement.
“The best figures came from the media law and practice section, and this reflects the increased focus on legal and ethical issues by the NCTJ following the Leveson inquiry and introduction of IPSO.”
Candidates must be successful in all four parts of the NQJ – interview, media law and practice, logbook and news report – to pass and achieve senior status.
Of the 69 candidates who sat last month, 50 were taking the exam for the first time and 19 were re-sitting.
The media law and practice paper produced a best-ever pass rate of 90pc, with 53 of 59 candidates successful.
Fifty two out of 66 who sat the news report exam passed, a pass rate of 79pc, while there were 47 successful candidates, or 77pc, of the 61 who sat the news interview exam.
In the e-logbook section, there was a 91 per cent pass rate, with 50 successful candidates from 55 who submitted their work.
Reflecting on the exam overall, Steve added: “The only disappointment was the failure of several candidates to complete the logbook correctly, resulting in overall fails.”
The full list of newly-qualified seniors is as follows:
Stuart Anderson, The News, Portsmouth
Christopher Anderson, The Reading Chronicle
Anthony Barej, Hertfordshire Mercury
Rachel Barr, Crawley News & East Grinstead Courier
Sophie Biddle, Eastern Daily Press
James Byrne, Congleton Chronicle
Eleanor Cambridge, Surrey Comet
Andrew Colley, Bucks Free Press
Rachel Conner, The Northern Echo
Phoebe Cooke, Newham Recorder
Patrick Dinham, Hertfordshire Mercury
Anna Dove, The Scotsman
Katie French, Mid Devon Gazette
Elizabeth Fry, Burton Mail
Duncan Geddes, Hampshire Chronicle
Francesca Gillett, South Wales Argus
Judith Hawkins, Grantham Journal
Kirsty Hough, Braintree & Witham Times
Ian Paul Johnson, The Scarborough News
Jack Johnson, Oxford Mail
Ciaran Kelly, South Wales Argus
Andrew Lawton, Gazette & Herald
John Lucas, Braintree & Witham Times
Kieran Lynch, Eastern Daily Press
Sophie Madden, Shropshire Star
Amy-Clare Martin, Kent & Sussex Courier
Ed McConnell, Kent Messenger
Matthew McKew, Isle of Wight County Press
Briana Millett, Weston Worle & Somerset Mercury
Simon Murfitt, Brentwood Gazette
Sebastian Murphy-Bates, Barking & Dagenham Post
George Odling, The Richmond & Twickenham Times
Ruth Ovens, Wells Journal
Ian Parker, Suffolk Free Press
Christopher Peddy, Derby Telegraph
Joshua Pennington, Winsford & Middlewich Guardian
Eleanor Perkins, East Kent Mercury
Eleanor Pipe, Sidmouth Herald
Annabel Rusbridge-Thomas, Kent Messenger
Mark Shales, Newham Recorder
Rebecca Louise Shepherd, Surrey Advertiser
Florence Snead, Cambridge News
Luke Sproule, Oxford Mail
Rebecca Catrin Taylor, Wandsworth Guardian
Georgina Townshend, Surrey Advertiser
Toby Wadey, Bournemouth Daily Echo
William Walker, Newbury Weekly News
Harriet Whitehead, Scunthorpe Telegraph
Joseph Wilkes, Mid Somerset Newspapers
Daniel Wright, Kentish Gazette
Sarah Yates, Bury Times & The Bolton News
Excellent. Plenty of long and rewarding careers in local journalism are about to begin then, though some of these post-grad luminaries may note that my neighbour’s son, possessed of precisely three GCSEs, is earning more as a supermarket deli counter trainee manager than the uber-qualified young reporters in the newsroom where I work. Try this spicy German salami, madam, I can thoroughly recommend it…
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Congratulations to all concerned, great job. And I’m sure, while Dick’s misgivings are understandable, that there is a future out there for fully qualified journalists.
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Dick by name…
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…and Dick by aptitude, voice of reason, UK. But, it’s true what they all say, your’s is the only voice worth listening to these days and I’ll take my medicine. Anyway, before a poster points out that middle-class “qualified” journalists aim for higher things than deli managers, may I just point out that the supermarket in question offers assisted support all the way to the top if you’re good enough – and that includes those not educated at public school (gasp). I’d like to revisit this list (and there are some splendid names on it I know) in five years’ time to see what’s become of everybody. I bet there won’t be many newspaper journalists on it but you can’t keep talent down so there’ll be plenty of high achievers in other fields. Good luck one and all.
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Dick speaks the truth whether we like it or not.
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Haha! Yeah okay.
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Congratulations Luke Sproule, Jack Johnson and Chris Anderson. All first time passes.
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Congratulations to John Lucas. Was a great work experience student when he came to us and was clearly destined for a bright future.
And as for the comment about pay/careers, I’m not sure anyone goes into it for the salary. You could offer me quadruple my wage to return to the meat and fish counters of the supermarket where I worked while freelancing but I’d not take it in a million years!
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