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SPA 2025 National Awards shortlists announced
It’s been another bumper year for the Student Publication Association (SPA) national awards, with a record number of entries. We're now thrilled to be able to reveal this year's shortlists!
1326
Number of entries received for the SPA 2024 national awards
(That’s our highest ever!)
If you find yourself on the shortlist - well done!
We hope we see you in Exeter on 5th April for our glittering awards ceremony to find out if you’ve won: get your tickets here.
If you’ve been unlucky this time, we hope you’ll still join us to celebrate your fellow student journalists and hear from all our brilliant speakers.
Can’t make it? Our awards ceremony will be live-streamed as in previous years.
Best Publication
Sponsored by…
- Cherwell
- Exeposé
- Epigram
- Palatinate
- ScienceMind
- The Beaver
- The Boar
- The Glasgow Guardian
- The River
- The University Times
Best Specialist Publication
- The Economic Tribune
- Indigo
- The Apiary
- Icarus Magazine
- Perspectives
- Women's Wrongs
- La Civetta
- ScienceMind
- STRAND Magazine
- The Cambridge Language Collective
Best Newcomer Publication
Sponsored by…
- Tonic
- Etc. Magazine
- The Mouth of Ystwyth
- Hillhead Review
- THREAD
- Circulation Magazine
Best Design (Newspaper)
- The Courier
- The Boar
- Trinity News
- Epigram
- The Beaver
- The Saint
- Gair Rhydd
- The Badger
Best Design (Magazine)
- The Magdalen
- Indigo
- Quench
- Inside The Box
- RAZZ
- Planorama
- Lingo Magazine
- The Saint's 2024 Freshers' Magazine
Best Overall Digital Media
Sponsored by…
iNHouse Communications
- Limerick Voice
- RAZZ
- Indigo
- Roar News
- Glasgow University Magazine (GUM)
- The Beaver
- Epigram
- Cherwell
- Palatinate
- The Magdalen
Best Website
- York Vision
- ScienceMind
- Brig Newspaper
- The Cheese Grater
- The Standard
- Glasgow University Magazine (GUM)
- Exeposé
- Cherwell
- University Observer
- Trinity News
Best Project or Initiative
- Archives project, Palatinate
- Break The Mould campaign, Epigram
- CoROARborate, Roar News
- DEI: Diversity by Design, The Standard
- Forge News general election coverage, Forge Press
- General election coverage, The Gaudie
- Serial Griever column, The Saint
- The Queer Student Podcast, Planorama
- The Year Abroad section, The Cambridge Language Collective
Best Culture Publication or Section(s)
- Indigo
- The Saint
- Quench
- Etc. Magazine
- The Student
- The Courier
- The Boar
- Forge Press
- Lingo Magazine
- Muse
Best Science Publication or Section
Sponsored by…
- UCL Science Magazine
- Palatinate
- University Observer
- The Mancunion
- Epigram
- Bath Time
Best Sport Publication or Section
- University Observer
- The Courier
- Roar News
- The Boar
- The Saint
- The Student
- Palatinate
- Orbital Magazine
- Gair Rhydd
Billy Dowling-Reid Award for Outstanding Commitment
Sponsored by…
- Annie McNamee, Epigram
- Ellen Morris, Nouse
- Jamie Bryson & Fiona Hill, Concrete
- Flora Prideaux, OSPL (Oxford Student Publications Limited)
- Katie Storrie, Quench
- Lily Gershon, Palatinate
- Luke Chapman, The Boar
- Ayasha Nordiawan, Indigo
- Tommy Manning, The Student
Best Reporter
Sponsored by…
Bloomberg
- Isabella Poderico, The Badger
- Odhran Gallagher, Hillhead Review
- Nina Miller, The Glasgow Guardian
- Lucy Reade, Pi Media & The Cheese Grater
- Nick Miao, The Cheese Grater
- Marina Snyder, The Courier
- Selina Chen, Cherwell
- Harriet Mogie, The River
- Luke Chapman, The Boar
- Robert Delaney, The Cheese Grater
Best Culture Writer
- Benji Chapman, Epigram
- Ally Olis, The Glasgow Guardian
- Sophie Layton, Forge Press
- Ali Rees - Brig Newspaper
- Cat Grogan, Trinity News
- Naomi Nelson, Bath Time
- Lucy Spencer, The Badger
- Anna-Marie Regner, The Saint
- Abigail Mableson, The Boar
- Zoe Karibian, The Standard
Best Sports Reporter
- Eloise Grainger, Exeposé
- Ben Pawlowski, Palatinate
- Sofia Royal, Concrete
- Skye Slatcher, The Beaver
- Oisín Gaffey, University Observer
- Aimee Szulczewski, Gair Rhydd
- Issy Trapnell Hoyle, Orbital Magazine
- Rachel Gore, The Boar
- Joseph Saunders, Palatinate
- Anne-Carter Riggs, The Saint
Best Student Photographer
- Alden Arnold, The Saint
- Nick Clarke, LABEL
- Thandi Nia Carklin, Quench
- Arabella Wright, The Gryphon
- Rory Chinn, Trinity News
- David K Hays, Cherwell
- Connor Williams, Roar News
Rising Star (Best Newcomer)
Sponsored by…
Women in Journalism
- Adam Schmitz, The University Observer
- Charlotte Martin, The Student
- Dharmi Dave, The River
- Dylan McLaren, Palatinate
- Esme Agius-Kensell, Kingston Courier
- Go Kitajima, The Cheese Grater
- Josh Eaton, Palatinate
- Kate Bailey Tonkin, The Glasgow Guardian
- Katie Kavanagh, Kinesis Magazine
- Sofia Lambis, Epigram
Best News Story
Sponsored by…
Leon Emirali
- Stirling University shelves 100% plant-based Union - Leonie MacLeod, Brig Newspaper
- University of York to move out of King’s Manor - Tom Layton, Nouse
- Klute closes down after 50 years of operation - Elliot Burrin, Will Dixon & Luca Hughes Joshi, Palatinate
- Exeter University invests £800,000 in major global plastics polluter - Callum Martin, Exeposé
- Warwick MUN apologises after members slam ‘praise’ of terror group in newsletter - Hasan Islam, The Boar
- As much as £235 a week for new Fallowfield accommodation - Ella Logan-Wilson, The Mancunion
- No jobs for graduates if Union bans oil and gas sponsorships, engineers warn - Andrea Bidnic, The Cheese Grater
- Abseiling police arrest Radcliffe Camera protesters - Euan Elliott, Selina Chen, Ila Banerji, Laurence Cooke, Seb Page, Conor Walsh, Charlie Bailey, Bryn Mollet, Georgia Campbell & Peter Chen, Cherwell
- Three-quarters of Leamington students missing lectures due to bus delays - Anna Bickerton & Abigail Mableson, The Boar
- Lord Peter Mandelson officially announces candidacy for Oxford chancellorship - Éilis Mathur, Cherwell
Best Investigation
Sponsored by…
- Women silenced across ranks: LSE’s mishandled sexual misconduct investigation into professor - Amadea Hofmann, The Beaver
- “It never got better”: Fairmont St Andrews overlooks workplace harassment, employees say - Zainab Haji & Charlie Gorrivan, The Saint
- Exposed: Chinese social media fuelling plagiarism at Glasgow - Odhran Gallagher, Hillhead Review
- Campus Safety fail to protect student protesters from far-right intruders - Tom Layton, Nouse
- Islamophobia at Freedom Society event - Gracie Moore, Amy Rushton, Callum Martin & Katie Matthews, Exeposé
- University offers medical placement exemptions to men’s football team, but not to women's - Lilian Mulholland, The Mancunion
- UCL support tool did more harm than good, report finds - Malvika Murkumbi, The Cheese Grater
- University accused of 'abuse of process' in Wellington Square protest investigation - Gaspard Rouffin, The Oxford Student
- Leeds student letting agents rebranding to ‘run away from bad reviews’ - Sadie Kendall, The Gryphon
- Union Society members suspended after appalling comments made at secret event - Will Dixon, Palatinate
Best Feature
- A childhood abused by my grandfather - Marianne Carney, The Badger
- Time to get serious: port, policy and the Conservative Party leadership contest - Jack Stone, The Oxford Blue
- "I like being naked": The stripped down truth behind being a life model - Mari Claudia Reimer, The Saint
- "We're looking for truth and justice": Uncovering hidden conflicts and the minds behind Project Khthon - Hannah Shiblaq, The Saint
- Casa Italiana: How a 'youth revolution' is gearing London's oldest Italian social club for the future - Bruno Quinney, Charlotte Stead & Eve Massey, La Civetta
- Fear and loathing in Los Angeles '25: hell on earth in the City of Angels - Jasper Harvey, The Gryphon
- Look away': Animal experiments at Oxford - Selina Chen, Cherwell
- Taylor Swift fans react to the Era tour cancellation in Vienna - Emma Rouine, University Times
- An Israeli and a Palestinian-American sit down together - Simon Ezra-Jackson, The Saint
- The fall of the (straight white male) finance bro: Are Diversity Spring Weeks really "reverse discrimination"? - Suchita Thepkanjana, The Beaver
Best Interview
Sponsored by…
- An interview from exile with Marilou Verano - Ella Raw, Nouse
- Player profiles: Millie Lavelle - Ali Rees, Brig Newspaper
- In hot water: Does the UK need to prepare for devastating heatwaves? - Katharina Stock, Kinesis Magazine
- Yellow Helen: What’s the point of being in a band? - Zara Grew, Blether Magazine
- Guardian columnist John Crace on life, career and politics - Callum Martin, Exeposé
- Fighting for survival: UEA Palestinian graduate tells her story - Jamie Bryson, Concrete
- Just Stop Oil forum protest, one year on: reflections from George in prison - Poppy Jabelman, Exeposé
- On poetry, prison, and new notions of time: In conversation with Mohsen Mohamed - Sanaya Narula, Cherwell
- “It was a choice that saved my life, but my body still felt like it was grieving”: in conversation with Glasgow Students for Choice’s Vice President about abortion - Kate Bailey Tonkin, The Glasgow Guardian
- Timothy Cho: from North Korea defector to human rights activist - William Milne, Palatinate
Best Science or Tech Piece
Sponsored by…
- Rain for mind, body, and soul - Amberly Wright, Exeposé
- Word of the issue: Sonder, a discussion of its power in medical practice - Daniella Baruch, RUMS Review
- The Welsh charm: can an accent secure victory in The Traitors? - Waseem Mohamed, Palatinate
- PopSci and science communication - science fact or fiction? - Jana Bazeed, Roar News
- Roar sits down with Dr. Alex Brogan to unveil game-changing method to recycle single-use bioplastics - Jana Bazeed, Roar News
- How many friends can you really have? Rethinking Dunbar’s number and the 150-friend limit to our social circle - Harshitaa Sendhilkumar, RUMS Review
- Updates on Efforts to Preserve 3.6 Million-Year-Old Footprints Threatened by Climate Change - Ana-Lucia Chalmers, The Saint
- Citizens of the universe: Choir gives science a heart - Daniel Grayshon, Exeposé
- To brie or not to brie - Louisa Willan, The Saint
- City birds and antimicrobial resistance: A little birdie told me… - Lili Illman, Bath Time
Best Comment Piece
- Afraid to Give a Cwtch - Sam Davies, Quench
- Here's how we improve Let Them Play - Sophie Layton, Forge Press
- That London: The tube is spectacular... and deeply depressing - George Devo, Forge Press
- A seat at the table - Niamh Stansfield, The Oxford Blue
- What is it with the Provost and 'disagreeing well'? - Andrea Bidnic, The Cheese Grater
- Jewish Society, wake up! - Andrea Bidnic, The Cheese Grater
- Ease on down the road - Sam Spendlove, The Saint
- The case for assisted dying - Lucy Reade, Pi Media
- My experience with an AI interviewer: A glimpse into the future of automated hiring - Saumia Bhatnagar, The Beaver
- How cost cutting is destroying the university experience - Waseem Mohamed, Palatinate
Best Lifestyle Piece
- 2024 Intoxtigation results: Merton drink least, Christ Church most - Laurence Cooke & Victoria McKinley Smith, Cherwell
- Chemsex amongst students - Kate Byrne, Trinity News
- Soph & Jen’s trials and tribulations: Have trends made us disillusioned from taste? - Jennifer Kai Yam Lau and Sophia-Ines Klein , The Beaver
- Crafty’s Burgers: Poetry in restaurant form - Michal Okonski, Leicestershire Press
- Pxssy Palace: A safe haven for queer people of colour - Camila Walker Muiambo , The River
- ‘We probably don’t see Warwick campus as a culture, but it is’: Warwick Clothes Circuit on what’s Warwick wearing - Katie Bevan, The Boar
- When can I call you? The death of the phone call - Zahra Jazmina, The Boar
- Why I swapped nights out for knitting - Antonia Shipley, Nouse
Best Arts or Culture Piece
- Female led indie rock bands: Exeter’s new generation - Amelia Jones, RAZZ
- Going analog: A case of film photography - Kalypso Isaidou, HARD Magazine
- An enduring fascination with the sad college girl - Emma Lueders, Trinity News
- Fault in our stars? - Eliza Clark, RAZZ
- Supporting Palestine through food - Libby Marchant, Trinity News
- Brighton’s hidden classics - Harry Turnbull, The Badger
- Decluttering the ‘mancave’: How projects like Warwick Arts Centre’s ‘Community Talking Shed’ are using collaborative art to fight the mental health crisis - Nikolai Morton, The Boar
- From rave to revenue: Are we losing the essence of EDM? - Marianne Graff, The Beaver
- The point of print - Phoebe Pascoe, The University Times
- Dublin Independent Fashion Week’s sophomore season - Aoibhínn Clancy & Ella Mansfield, Trinity News
Best Creative Piece
- SUTCo chair hijacks committee, dismisses other members - Sophie Layton, Forge Press
- Playing cards - Katie Bevan, The Boar
- I’m sorry, I don’t read: An owed tu voluntari eeliteracy - Alexander McQuibban, The Saint
- A Wellington boy’s ode to the Duke of Wellington - Isaac Quirke, Glasgow University Magazine (GUM)
- Freud Eggs: Reviewed - Jacqueline the Ripper (Jan Maciejewski), The Oxford Student
- Dear phantom flatmate - Jasmine Yiu, The Cheese Grater
- Made in China - Jessica-May Cox, The Beaver
- Radcliffe Camera to enforce ‘history readers-only’ time slots amid overcrowding - Selina Chen, Cherwell
- We found ourselves in Bath - Megan Johnstone, Bath Time
- Ghost stories - Stella Fenwick, Indigo
Matthew Stothard
Matthew is the SPA's Communications Officer for 2024/25
