A student newspaper has won a national prize for its role in a campaign that united 21 different titles across the country.

Exeposé, the paper of the University of Exeter, has been named Best Publication at the Student Publication Association’s National Awards.

Exeposé was commended by the judges for its “commitment to holding power to account and actually making positive change for university students”, with the judges particularly commending “innovative and powerful coverage of Harry’s Law”.

The campaign united 21 student papers in the aftermath of a student taking their own life and called for universities to be mandated to publish suicide statistics.

The winners at the 2023 SPA National Awards

Aubrey Allegretti, a trustee for the SPA, said: “We are immensely proud of the incredible work produced over the past year by student journalists, who held power to account at their universities and campaigned on a range of important issues.

“Student journalists are the lifeblood of their campus communities, and we are proud to support their work through training, and advocating for them in the face of funding cuts.

“The judges for our 2023 National Awards said many of the stories submitted would fit perfectly in national publications.

“I am confident our winners will follow those before them into the profession and become the industry leaders of tomorrow.”

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best Publication Award: Exeposé
Billy Dowling-Reid Award: Freya Shaw, Creative Director at Epigram
Best Reporter Award: Elizabeth McBride, Palatinate
Best News Story Award: Chun Buckets Everywhere: How Initiation Ceremonies ruin the Freshers Experience – Neil Majithia and Elettra Plati, The Cheese Grater
Best Specialist Publication Award: The Economic Tribune
Best Newcomer Individual Award (Rising Star): Luke Hewitt, The Mancunion
Best Newcomer Publication Award: ScienceMind
Best Student Photographer Award: Reagan Yip, Platform
Best Magazine Design Award: GUM
Best Newspaper Design Award: The Mancunion
Best Overall Digital Media Award: The Mancunion
Best Website Award: The Mancunion
Best Sports Section Award: Palatinate
Best Sports Reporter Award: Oliver Jervis, Palatinate
Best Science Publication or Section Award: The Mancunion
Best Science or Tech Piece Award: Gino D’Acampo: ‘NFTs are the future of gaming’ – Will Brown, Palatinate
Best Feature Award: The Beaver investigates: how LSE students cheat their way to internships – Amadea Hofmann
Best Comment Piece Award: Navigating university hook-up culture as a survivor of sexual assault – Sahana Rudra, The Beaver
Best Interview Award: Mysteries of Life, on Earth and Above – Charles Gorrivan, The Saint
Best Political Piece Award: Anonymous, The Beaver – China’s ‘A4 revolution’ spreads to London and the world
Best Arts & Culture Piece Award: The art of war photography with David Pratt – Kimberley Mannion, The Glasgow Guardian
Best Lifestyle Piece Award: My Ovaries & I – Ria Walls, Trinity News
Best Creative Piece: What the F*** is Going On?: A Comprehensive Guide to British Politics – Isabel Loubser and Amelia Perry, The Saint
Best Project or Initiative: Student papers for Harry’s Law – Exeposé