The NCTJ Awards for Excellence recognise and reward the best journalism students completing NCTJ-accredited courses and journalists/photographers with less than two years' experience on the job. With quality training and high standards at the heart of the NCTJ, these awards highlight the achievements of individuals with promising journalism careers ahead of them. The awards are free to enter, so why not put yourself forward for recognition which could be the springboard for your success?

Award categories

		News journalism
		Sports journalism
		Top scoop/exclusive
		Features of the year
		Images of the year

For each of the categories above, there will be two awards:

		one for students on NCTJ-accredited courses for coursework or published/broadcast work completed on a pre-entry course; and
		one for trainees with less than two years' employment experience.

Awards are open to all NCTJ students and trainee journalists on the NCE pathway (whether they are working towards the NCE or have recently taken it), covering all media, for work produced during the period 1 September, 2008 to 31 July, 2009. See How to enter.

Performance awards

There will also be three separate awards for the best NCTJ part-qualified and fully-qualified journalists / photographers:

		NCTJ Student Journalist of the Year. Awarded to the best-performing NCTJ student based on preliminary exam results and references.
		NCTJ Photographer of the Year. Awarded to the best-performing photographer in the National Certificate Examination.
		NCTJ Reporter of the Year. Awarded to the best-performing newspaper reporter in the National Certificate Examination.

There is no need to enter these awards as they are based on exam results.

NCTJ Chairman's Award

A final award will celebrate a nominated individual's outstanding contribution to high standards of journalism training. See How to enter for more details.