Aspiring young journalists celebrated the end of their year with Exeter College's JAx Journalism Academy today (June 10th) with a special graduation event in the college's theatre.

Special guest Bridget Stait, from Academy sponsor Pearson UK, presented certificates to over 20 students who have spent the year writing for global websites, producing magazines, and taking part in workshops with a range of high profile journalists and broadcasters.

Exeter College Governor Chris Hoar then announced the winners of two competitions to find the best feature of the year written by an Academy student, and the best magazine produced by an Academy team or individual.

The award for Best Feature, chosen by JonPaul Hedge, editor of the Express & Echo, went to 17 year-old Katie Ralph, from Crediton, for ‘Emotions and Feeling are Black and White,' which was also published in the Times Educational Supplement (TES) in March. Hedge said, “[Katie] should be incredibly proud of her writing and confident to know that investing emotionally in piece such as this is always treated with respect by the reader.”

Best Magazine Award went to Lauren Sawyer, also 17, from Exeter, for her magazine LEAD, aimed at the women's climbing community. Lauren wrote, designed and edited the whole magazine and intends to make it available to climbers as a digital version.

Judging the magazine award competitors Jon Severs, Commissioning Editor of the TES, said, “What a fantastic effort from one person — so often the best magazines come from writers passionate about their subject and doing this alone and the way it reads and looks shows a passion.

“The imagery and balance of features is really well done — a good mix of personal stories and helpful features with some great imagery. Everything has its place and it feels like a consistent and well thought through prospect.
“The writing is excellent – I like the way it is more figurative for features and more practical for the tips sections. Again that shows a lot of thought.”

JAx manager Russ Evans said, “It's really good to be able to show how hard the students work and celebrate their successes. It also helps us say thank you to our supporters in local media and at Pearson UK.”

All students who study at Exeter College this September are able to apply to join next year's Academy intake. Visit the College website for details.