Two FE Week journalists scooped the top further education prizes at the CIPR Education Journalism Awards 2016 at a ceremony in London last night.
Paul Offord, deputy editor of FE Week took home the award for Outstanding Further and Vocational Education Journalism, with senior reporter Alix Robertson claiming the runner-up prize.
Paul was rewarded for his exclusive investigation into brokers taking millions in government funding meant for front-line training, with judges commending him on demonstrating “the importance of good contacts” and “holding senior bodies to account”.
Alix took second place for her series of features into the Saudi Arabia colleges of excellence programme, which judges deemed “an arresting read, and a very powerful account of how asking challenging questions can result in the right thing being done.”
The pair were up against TES reporters Julia Belgutay and Stephen Exley, Kim Thomas from Public Finance magazine and Freddie Whittaker, political reporter at FE Week’s sister paper, FE Week.
FE Week’s Jude Burke and Billy Camden (reporter for both FE Week and FE Week) was also shortlisted for an award in the Most Promising Newcomer category.
Now in their twelfth year, the awards celebrate the best and brightest education and skills journalists for the academic year 2015/16, and attracted entrants from The Guardian, TES, Financial Times, ITV and BBC News.
John Dickens, chief reporter at FE Week’s sister paper FE Week also took a top accolade, winning first place in the Outstanding National Education Journalism category. Dickens beat off four other reporters who were also shortlisted: Jon Severs, Richard Vaughan, Helen Ward and Kaye Wiggins, all from the TES.
FE Week Editor Laura McInerney was shortlisted in the category for editorial excellence.
Editor of FE Week, Nick Linford, said: “Last night was well deserved recognition for our talented reporters as well as for both newspapers and all of the team.”
Managing director of Lsect, the publisher of FE Week and FE Week, Shane Mann, added: “Nick and I were proud and honoured to see our journalists’ hard work recognised and celebrated.
“So many guests at the awards were full of praise for both newspapers – these moments offer an opportunity to reflect and appreciate how much we’ve achieved in such a short space of time. In six years we have become the go-to place for news in the education and skills sector.”
Fantastic- such a positive accolade and recognition of your work, well done and congratulations
Well done FE Week and FE Week! Great news for Alex, John and Paul – well done indeed!
Well done!
Congratulations to FE Week and FE Week for this recognition. well done
Fantastic news Alex, John and Paul. Great to know all your hard work and effort continues to be recognised. Well done. Charlotte
FE Week is compulsory and compulsive reading for me. Well done to the team and for the individual awards.
Many congratulations….well deserved!
Congratulations to the FE Week team highlighted by these individual awards. No question that FE & Skills requires far more than another ‘reporting’ device, all parties interests need to be taken into account whilst occasionally some need to be ‘held to account’ regardless of position and whichever side of the fence.
The current editorial format is clearly working, well done and long may it make waves.
A deserved recognition of insightful educational journalism
Really well done FE Week sets the bar very high on reporting FE issues across the UK
Congratulations
Congratulations to FE Week & FE Week! Well deserved.
Always a great read. Why? Great journalists!
Well done everyone.
We are so lucky to have such a brilliant team of journalists reporting on the issues and successes of our sector. Congratulations to the winners and the full team. Well done.
Well done FE Week and Schools, it’s great to know your hard work and efforts have been recognised. Keep up the good work.
Congratulations from an avid reader.