News Associates named UK’s number one NCTJ journalism school for sixth straight year
News Associates is officially the UK’s number one NCTJ journalism school for the sixth straight year.
Our first-ever undergraduate cohort in Manchester was crowned the number one course in the country with 100% of trainees achieving the highly sought-after gold-standard qualification.
Our fast-track course in London also achieved the top results again – the eighth year in a row News Associates has delivered the best independent fast-track course.
And we’ve been the number one-ranked NCTJ course in London for 12 years.
In the 2019-20 academic year, 1,138 people enrolled to sit their Diploma in Journalism exams across 59 accredited courses at 35 approved centres, and 222 of them achieved gold standard (A-C grades in all modules and 100wpm shorthand, if taken) – of which 103 trained with us. Meaning 46% of all gold-standard journalists this year trained at News Associates.
News Associates managing editor James Toney said: “We’re incredibly proud News Associates has been recognised as the home of the UK’s number one journalism course for a record-breaking sixth consecutive year.
“Gold-standard NCTJ qualifications are the benchmark of journalism excellence and congratulations to the 222 who achieved this nationally – the fact 46% of them trained with us is again a source of much pride for our team.”
News Associates course director Rachel Bull said: “In a difficult year, our staff and trainees have again proved why they are the best in the business, and to be the top-ranked undergraduate course in the country at the first time of asking is an incredible achievement.
“For all postgraduate trainees on our fast-track NCTJ Diploma to again be recognised as the best in the country, the eighth straight time a News Associates course has achieved this, is incredibly satisfying after all the challenges of 2020.”
News Associates head of journalism Manchester Andrew Greaves said: “We’re delighted to be recognised as the best NCTJ-accredited degree course in the country. It’s a real testament to the hard work of the trainees and the team here at News Associates.
“This was our first graduating cohort and to have all of them achieve the gold standard – something no other degree course has been able to achieve – is just fantastic.
“We’ve known it for years for our postgraduate courses, which have consistently been the best in the business, but now we’re also proud to say there is nowhere better to study for your journalism degree and NCTJ Diploma than with News Associates and the School of Journalism.”
News Associates head of journalism London Graham Moody said: “To be named the top independent fast-track course in the country again, in a year which was more testing than any other before, is huge testament to the work and dedication of our fantastic team of tutors.
“Every single one of them went out of their way to make sure our trainees still got the best results and the best job opportunities around.
“Those trainees also rose to the challenge of learning remotely and I’m delighted to see their efforts recognised.”
The news comes after we won innovation of the year at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence for the way we adapted our teaching and workshops during the pandemic.
News Associates graduates Alex Diggins and Joshua Graham were also crowned student feature writer and sports journalist of the year.
The NCTJ league tables for 2019/20 will be released shortly. You can see the NCTJ news release here.
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