The University of Sheffield and News Associates in London both had two students recognised in this year's NCTJ awards for excellence.
Sheffield’s André Rhoden-Paul won the student news journalism category and Sophie Grubb claimed the award for multimedia story/campaign.
From NA London, George Gigney won student journalist of the year and Leonie Chao-Fong took home the student award for top scoop/exclusive.
Charlotte Austen-Hardy from The Chelmsford Weekly News won the inaugural Paul Durrant Award.
Related
The new Paul Durrant Award is given to a newly-qualified journalist working on a newspaper in the East of England for their performance in the senior exams for trainee reporters. The prize is in honour of Paul Durrant, former assistant editor of the Eastern Daily Press who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Austen-Hardy said: “I’m absolutely over the moon about being presented with Mr Durrant’s award, it is such an honour.
“I hope to do him proud and continue to uphold the values and standards our NQJ training teaches us and which Mr Durrant holds so dear.
“My training has been incredibly valuable in my career so far and I’d advise any trainees to take advantage of training opportunities offered to them, such as law or interview practice, as it not only gives you the best possible chance of success in the examinations but also the skills and confidence to tackle difficult stories in the newsroom.”
BBC Midlands Today presenter Nick Owen, who presented the awards, said: “Everyone who has been shortlisted should be immensely proud of their work. They’ve demonstrated the combination of writing skills, determination and resilience that they’ll need to forge a career in journalism. And they’ve impressed our expert judges along the way.
“The winners of these awards are living proof there’s plenty of talent out there delivering reporting of the highest calibre.”
There were more than 220 submissions to the awards, with student entries produced during an NCTJ-accredited course or distance learning course. To enter the trainee categories, journalists must have been working for less than two years' in any sector of journalism and have completed the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism.
The full list of winners:
Student news journalism:
André Rhoden-Paul, University of Sheffield
Trainee news journalism:
Henry Holloway, The Argus
Student sports journalism:
Michael Steward, St Mary's University
Trainee sports journalism:
Nemesha Balsundaram, Irish Post
Student top scoop/exclusive:
Leonie Chao-Fong, News Associates London
Trainee top scoop/exclusive:
Jordan Bluer, Dover Express
Student feature:
Catrina Cochrane, Glasgow Clyde College
Trainee feature:
Naomi Firsht, Jewish Chronicle
Student multimedia story/campaign:
Sophie Grubb, University of Sheffield
Trainee multimedia story/campaign:
Sophie Mei Lan Slack, BBC Journalism Trainee Scheme
Student project:
The North Crowd, Teesside University
Apprentice of the year:
Daniel Wright, KM Group
Student journalist of the year:
George Gigney, News Associates London
Trainee journalist of the year:
Katie Dickinson, The Westmoreland Gazette
The Paul Durrant award:
Charlotte Austen-Hardy, The Chelmsford Weekly News
Chairman's award:
Sue Green
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
