Press Association Training tops NCTJ league table
Press Association Training staff in Newcastle have been celebrating a string of successes including a number of national awards by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).
The Press Association Multimedia Foundation Course has topped national exam leagues compiled by NCTJ for the second year running based on their “gold standard performances” in exams. Newcastle emerged as the best commercial course in the UK achieving a 67 per cent success rate. This comes on top of former trainee Mary Hamilton, of the Eastern Daily Press, being named NCTJ Student of the Year.
Foundation Course leader Paul Jones said: “This is a terrific achievement and is down to the hard work and flair of our highly dedicated team.
“They are what sets this course apart from all others.”
Press Association Training was also singled out by the NCTJ for its outstanding performance in shorthand, with trainees achieving a success rate of 93 per cent.
Paul said: “We have the fabulous Susan Nixon to thank for this. Susan has taught Teeline at the Newcastle centre for 25 years this year and I believe she is the best in the business.
“It is a view shared by the hundreds of reporters she has helped pass the 100wpm exam during that time. She is a legend.”
The good news about the exams league success – announced at the Glasgow Journalism Skills Conference – ends a remarkable year for the Foundation Course team. It is the Newcastle centre’s 40th anniversary and the year has been marked by tremendous performances by a number of former trainees who have attracted high praise from within the industry. As well as Mary Hamilton’s success, this year has seen:
- Hannah Thomas-Peter, of Sky News, named Royal Television Society Young Journalist of the Year
- Cara Simpson, of the Coventry Telegraph, won the Daily Mail Young Journalist of the Year title
- Rob Pattinson, of the Evening Chronicle in Newcastle, won the Tom Cordner award for North East Trainee of the Year.
Paul said: “During the last 40 years reporters including James Naughtie Andrew Marr and Sally Magnusson have been among the cohorts of young hopefuls to arrive here.
“It is great to see the latest generation of our talented trainees begin to mark their mark on our industry.”
