Calum Johnson, from the University of Salford has been awarded the The Society of Editors Shorthand Award in the latest Diploma In Journalism results announced by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).
Calum is one of 12 candidates who receive a £250 prize for coming top of their category.
The award winners were announced today in the latest NCTJ Diploma in Journalism Examiners’ Report, which was published alongside the 2019-20 Quality Assurance and Standards Committee report.
A total of 6,431 Diploma in Journalism exams were sat during this academic year, and seventy-one per cent of candidates achieved the gold standard, compared to sixty-six per cent the previous year, the NCTJ announced.
In the report, the NCTJ’s principal examiner Amanda Ball praised the efforts of students, centres and the NCTJ during what has been “the most challenging of years in education and training”.
She said: “Standards appear to be unaffected, with the proportion of candidates attaining a ‘gold standard’ A-C pass in most subjects remaining very similar to the previous year. In some subjects there were notable increases in the pass rate.”
Amanda added: “The platforms and procedures the NCTJ has put in place for remote delivery protect the integrity of the assessments and the reliability and validity of the assessment results, whilst giving candidates a much-needed opportunity to achieve their qualification without further delay.”
Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the NCTJ, said: “The talent on this year’s list of award winners deserve extra special recognition for their exceptional performance, achieved during their studies in a global pandemic. Passing with gold standard is challenging enough during the best of times; getting high percentage A grades and top shorthand speeds is a remarkable achievement in such difficult circumstances.
“We are fortunate to have the support of a fantastic range of award sponsors who allow us to recognise and reward the achievements of those who have done so well in their exams. Many thanks to them and congratulations to all the award winners.”
Ian Murray, executive director of the SoE said: “ Congratulations to Calum and all the other winners.
“IN an age where communication is so fast, shorthand is still a vital part in the journalist’s toolkit.”
The full list of winners is as follows:
The Archant essential journalism award
Ellen Halliday, News Associates London
The Oxford University Press essential media law award
Melanie Rawson, University of Sheffield
The JPIMedia media law: court reporting award
Ines Fernandes Louro Santos, University of Sheffield
The Oxford University Press public affairs award
Sraddha Sabu, University of Sheffield
The Society of Editors shorthand award (100wpm)
Calum Johnson, University of Salford
The Sky Sports News shorthand award (120wpm)
Charlie Moloney, PA Training
The ITV News broadcast journalism award
Jacob Ottaway, University of Essex
The Facebook editing skills for journalists’ award
Hannah Voak, distance learner
The Mark Allen Group business of magazines award
Eve Jarvis, Glasgow Caledonian University
The Archant videojournalism award
Kelham Hilton, University of Salford
The Premier League sports journalism award
James Martin, PA Training
The Reach journalism for a digital audience award
Catriona Aitken, Cardiff University
The overall Student of the Year award for the 2019-20 academic year will be announced at the virtual Awards for Excellence ceremony in partnership with Sky News on Thursday, 18 March.
