Quality sports journalism celebrated at Student Council

The three top NCTJ sports journalism students have been awarded prizes from The Football League for their outstanding exam performance.

Stephen Scott won the first prize of the chance to report on the Championship play-offs, Mike Revell was awarded second prize and will report on League One, while Rhys Hayward won the third prize of reporting on League Two. All the match reports will be posted on The Football League’s website.

The awards were presented at the 2011 Student Council forum on 11 February by representatives of The Football League; Gavin Megaw, director of external affairs and John Nagle head of communications.

First prize winner Stephen Scott completed the part-time fast-track newspaper journalism course at News Associates in London in August 2010. In November 2010 he started working full-time as a news reporter for the Maidenhead Advertiser, and also does some sport reporting – including writing for the Watford FC matchday programme.

Commenting on his win Stephen said: “I was really pleased to win the award, and I’m extremely thankful for all the help and guidance I received from the excellent tutors at News Associates in London. I really enjoyed taking the sports journalism module and the training I received in match reporting, interviewing and sport politics was invaluable.”

Mike Revell studied creative writing at the University of Essex, before going to Harlow to do a postgraduate NCTJ course in magazine journalism and sports reporting.

He is passionate about all sport, but particularly American football, which he covers for the Mirror online. He also writes about British American football for Inside American Football Magazine and BAFACL.com. As well as this he works as an editor for Booking.com and writes about sport on a freelance basis. He also enjoys writing children’s fiction when he has the time.

Mike was surprised and delighted to win second prize and said: “I didn’t know anything about this award, so it came as a wonderful surprise to learn that the NCTJ had chosen to give it to me. It can mean one of two things: either my sacrifices to the sport gods have finally paid off, or Wayne Veysey, my teacher at Harlow, was very good. The latter, I think. I was lucky to go to Harlow College before he left. Sport is a brilliant thing, writing about it is a joy, and it is a great honour to be given an award for it. It’s given me the confidence to keep plugging away.”

Third place award winner Rhys Hayward, originally from South Wales, also studied for his NCTJ qualification at News Associates in London. Since graduating, he has worked for a national sports press agency and now works as a cricket writer and website assistant for Marylebone Cricket Club at the home of cricket, Lord’s. He is interested in sport and all things new media, and is looking to continue developing his career in online sports writing. 

Rhys said: “I’m delighted to receive this award. The name NCTJ is widely respected throughout the industry and it is a wonderful to be honoured by them in such a manner.”