A News Associates course was again ranked number one in the UK in the academic year 2020/21 by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.
The results achieved by our trainees sitting their NCTJ Diploma in Journalism examinations in London and Manchester have seen us top the league tables for seven straight years.
In 2021, our sports journalism course was named the top-performing NCTJ course, with a whopping 76% of trainees achieving the gold-standard qualification.
100% of The School of Journalism Manchester’s class of 2021 achieved first-class degrees and gold-standard NCTJ diplomas, continuing the success of previous years.
Our first-ever undergraduate cohort in Manchester was crowned the number one course in the country in 2020 with 100% of trainees achieving the highly sought-after gold-standard qualification.
And we’ve been the number one-ranked NCTJ course in London for 13 years.
The NCTJ ‘gold-standard’ is the highest entry level qualification into the industry, signifying A-C passes in all modules and 100 words per minute shorthand.
In 2017/2018, our courses made up four of the top five NCTJ courses in the UK with gold-standard pass rates of 100% (Manchester sports journalism), 91% (London sports journalism), 83% (Manchester fast-track) and 81% (London fast-track).
In 2018/2019, our courses made up four of the top five NCTJ courses in the UK with gold-standard pass rates of 94% (London sports journalism), 75% (Manchester sports journalism), 70% (London fast-track) and 62% (Manchester fast-track).
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. Also this year, our undergraduate programme in Manchester, The School of Journalism, achieved a 100% gold-standard pass rate. And News Associates courses made up five of the top seven NCTJ courses in the UK.
In addition, the annual award for Student Journalist of the Year – received by the NCTJ candidate who achieves the best marks nationally – was won by News Associates graduates George Gigney, Sara Oldfield and Anna Schaverien in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
To see the full NCTJ league tables – visit their website here.