Thursday, 10 December 2009 16:50 The six top performing courses accredited by the the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) were singled out during last week's Journalism Skills Conference.

NCTJ, which trains journalists, reporters and photographers for the UK newspaper industry, held a glittering dinner to celebrate the success of its courses at BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay headquarters.

Harlow College led the table for the accredited one-year further education course, with 27 per cent of students meeting the industry's 'gold' standard in every model.

"This award reflects the hard work and absolute passion for success of the students and staff team of the Journalism Centre at Harlow College," said Paula Dady, the college's assistant academy manager for humanities and media.

"The NCTJ qualifications are justly demanding in order to meet the high expectations of the journalism industry and it is especially rewarding to see students finish their course equipped with the tools to help bring them real success in this highly competitive field.

"With the college's Teaching and Learning Strategy in place the Journalism Centre will continue to strive to improve still further and offer courses aimed at providing students, industry and the wider community with an excellent standard of education and training."

Harlow College has seen its fair share of journalism celebrities completing its courses over the years, from Piers Morgan to Richard Madely. Alan Rusbridger, the editor of The Guardian, and the BBC's Michael Beurk also took journalism courses at the college.

(Pictured: Piers Morgan, one of the many celebrity journalists to pass through Harlow College's corridors)