The winners of national awards for student journalism have been announced after more than 1,200 nominations were received.

The Student Publication Association has announced the winners of its 2020 awards in a virtual ceremony hosted as part of its annual conference.

The ceremony saw Exeposé, the University of Exeter’s student newspaper, win the title of the best student publication in the country.

The virtual conference and ceremony was attended online by 450 students and featured nearly 30 talks, panels and workshops on careers in the media, media law, podcasting and other topics.

SPA chair Owain Evans said: “We were delighted to welcome our members to our virtual national conference at the weekend, after the original was postponed in April.

“This is always the highlight of our year, and it was wonderful to see so many delegates interacting and asking questions of our speakers.

“None of us at the SPA expected this to be how our 2020 national conference would look, but despite the circumstance, we managed to reach more students than ever before.

“I’d like to offer a huge congratulations to all of our award winners, commendations and special mentions, who have proven themselves to be the very best in the UK & Ireland.

“I’d also like to thank all of our member publications, whose patience over recent months has helped us to host this incredible event.”

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best Publication
Exeposé (The University of Exeter)

Billy Dowling-Reid Award Winner
Ben Standring (The Mic, University of Nottingham)

Best Reporter Winner
Steph Spyro (River Online, Kingston University London)

Best News Story Winner
Bec Oakes and Lily Martin (The Mancunion, University of Manchester)

Best Specialist Publication Winner
The York Historian (The University of York)

Best Overall Digital Media Winner
Epigram (The University of Bristol)

Best Newcomer Publication Winner
The Oxford Blue (The University of Oxford)

Best Website Winner
Impact Magazine (The University of Nottingham)

Best Science/Tech Section or Publication Winner
The Courier (Newcastle University)

Best Sports Coverage Winner
Brig Newspaper (The University of Stirling)

Best Human Rights Story Winner
Lucia Posteraro (The Glasgow Guardian, University of Glasgow)

Best Comment Piece Winner
Claudia Parker (InQuire, University of Kent)

Best Interview Winner
Tristan Phipps (The Mic, University of Nottingham)

Best Science or Tech Piece Winner
Javier Bautista (Kinesis, University College London)

Best Entertainment Piece Winner
Sophie Chapman (RAZZ Magazine, University of Exeter)

Best Feature Winner
Lauren Boland (Trinity News, Trinity College Dublin)

Best Lifestyle Piece Winner
Anonymous Writer (RAZZ Magazine, University of Exeter)

Best Magazine Design Winner
The Magdalen (The University of Dundee)

Best Newspaper Design Winner
Redbrick (The University of Birmingham)

Best Photographer Winner
Yuval Caspi (Pi Media, University College London)