The pass rate for the National Qualification in Journalism has bounded back to near-record levels with 25 trainee journalists gaining senior status.

More than three-quarters of trainees who sat the National Qualification in Journalism (NQJ) exams in November achieved the qualification, bringing the results back into line with the November 2017 sitting in which a record 78pc passed.

Out of the 33 candidates who sat the exams on Friday, 2 November across four centres, a total of 25 were successful – a pass rate of 76pc.

It follows two sittings earlier this year which successively broke the record for the lowest pass rate – with 55pc successful in March and just 47pc in July.

To gain senior status, candidates have to achieve a pass in all four sections of the exam – media law and practice, news report, news interview and e-logbook – achieving ‘senior journalist’ status.

The November NQJ saw a 100pc pass rate for e-logbook, the fifth in succession since July 2017, while the media law and practice exam, which tested defamation, confidentiality, qualified privilege, reporting restrictions, privacy and children, resulted in a pass rate of 81pc.

The news interview paper, which featured a story about a man with learning difficulties being attacked and seriously hurt by a gorilla at a city zoo, led to a pass rate of 71pc, with 20 successful candidates from the 28 who sat the exam.

And the news report, where candidates were asked to provide a local angle on a national story about flooding problems in the north-east,saw a pass rate of 78pc.

The moderator said: “The higher pass rate for the November exam shows that candidates are having a greater national/global awareness for news stories.

“In part B it was pleasing to see that trainees were able to gauge a story’s follow-up appeal and produce strong suggestions for this part of the exam.”

The next National Qualification in Journalism exam will take place on Friday, 8 March 2019 and the closing date for enrolment is Friday, 25 January 2019.

It will be the last NQJ exam in its current form before it is replaced with the level 6 NQJ, which has been developed following an industry wide review.

The full list of successful candidates in November was follows:

Hayley Anderson, Romford Recorder
Daniel Angelini, Swindon Advertiser
Lewis Cox, Shropshire Star
Sean Davies, Canvey Echo
Matthew Dresch, Worcester News
Finola Fitzpatrick, Harrogate Advertiser
Nicholas Fletcher, Lincolnshire Echo
Rebecca Jones, Harwich & Manningtree Standard
Abigail Kellett, Halifax Evening Courier
Jonathan King, Ham & High
Jennifer Logan, Worthing Herald
John Mason, Melton Times
Kelsey Maxwell, St Helens Star
Keegan Murray, The Shetland Times
Tom Oakley, Freelance
Eleanor Pringle, Eastern Daily Press
Nathalie Raffray, Ham & High
Danny Rust, Canvey Echo
Virginia Sanderson, Eastbourne Herald
Tamara Siddiqui, The News, Portsmouth
Robert Smith, Shropshire Star
Charlotte Turner, The Herald, Plymouth
Fraser Whieldon, Herts Advertiser
Kathryn Wylie, The Southern Reporter
Eleanor Young Weston, Worle & Somerset Mercury