SPA 2026 National Awards: winners announced

The ceremony, held in Norwich at the University of East Anglia on Saturday 28 March, saw 52 certificates and 26 trophies handed out to the best student newspapers, magazines and journalists for innovative and impactful work produced over the past 12 months, says the Student Publication Association.

University College London’s The Cheese Grater won Best Publication, while the University of Bristol’s Epigram picked up the Highly Commended gong.

News Media Association CEO Owen Meredith, who judged the Best Publication category, said: “In a highly competitive category The Cheese Grater stood out as an innovative outsider with an eye for engaging design, challenging the establishment with compelling and relevant stories that have found an audience. Their digital strategy and growth speaks for itself with a determination to reach readers where they are with a multi-platform approach while investing in the print product. Overall, they have shown commitment to delivering journalism that champions its readers and delivered impressive engagement and results.”

Of the Highly Commended entry, Meredith remarked: “Compelling storytelling with a clear editorial direction and ethos embedded in student life, the team take their storytelling seriously and have a clear editorial focus and commitment to standards. With a clear focus on their audience and the stories that matters to Bristol university students, Epigram has demonstrated an innovation strategy that is delivering results and growing reach.”

Other winners include former The Cheese Grater Editor Nick Miao for Best Reporter and The University Times’ Harper Alderson for the Billy Dowling-Reid Award for Outstanding Commitment.

From hard-hitting investigations and insightful interviews to punchy comment pieces and creative culture articles, the quality of work produced by all the winners showcased the finest talent from university campuses across the UK and Republic of Ireland, the Student Publication Association continued.

With 1404 entries this year, the SPA 2026 National Awards were once again one of the UK’s biggest journalism awards. Nominations were judged by a range of top editors and journalists from media organisations including BBC News, The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Daily Mirror, the i, and The Observer.

Judges paid tribute to the high standards of work submitted, saying many pieces would fit perfectly into national publications.

Across the weekend, over 200 student journalists from across the UK and Republic of Ireland descended upon Norwich to attend the Student Publication Association’s 2026 national conference and awards.

The three-day event was sponsored by a range of media organisations, newsrooms and universities, added the Association, including News Media Association, PLMR, Bloomberg, City St George’s, Concrete, UEA Journalism, Cardiff University School of Journalism, Media and Culture (JOMEC), Kingston University London, Diageo, Newsworks, the Association of British Science Writers, iNHouse Communications, Leon Emirali (Nostrada AI), Seth Conway Media and The Herald Scotland.

#SPANC26 featured a range of talks, panels, masterclasses and workshops with some of the UK’s top journalists. Delegates heard from over 50 speakers, including keynote talks with BBC News chief presenter, Maryam Moshiri, BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight presenter James Coomarasamy, The New York Times Investigative Correspondent Jane Bradley, and Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins, alongside masterclasses in red carpet reporting, breaking news and more.

The SPA's long-standing Financial Assistance Scheme also helped seven student journalists from across the country to attend the conference. Supported by Newsworks and The Herald Scotland, the fund aids the charity’s commitment to fostering a diverse media industry and is a cornerstone of our offer to student journalists.

Matthew Stothard, chair of the SPA, said: “Our 2026 national conference was a moment of celebration and recognition of the importance of student journalism. I am so proud to have led our team of up and coming journalists and industry professionals to deliver #SPANC26, the highlight of the student journalism calendar. It was particularly special for me as a former co-editor-in-chief of Concrete to host it at UEA, the SPA’s first time in my home region of East Anglia.

“It was such a joy to see the students making new connections, learning about aspects of the industry they may never have considered before and of course celebrating their successes at our national awards. A huge thank you to everyone who attended, and massive congratulations to all of our award winners.”

Joe McFadden, the SPA’s conference & events officer, said: “This has been an unforgettable weekend for student journalism. It’s been an honour and a privilege to organise this year’s national conference, and I firmly believe it’s been one of the best ones yet. Having attended SPANC since my first year of university in 2021, I’ve loved seeing the conference and SPA grow from strength to strength; the future of journalism is in safe hands. I’d like to thank all our brilliant speakers and sponsors who gave up their time to come and chat to the next generation, as well as mention how proud I am of the volunteers who made this conference possible.”

Emily Pitt-Shaw, the SPA’s 2026 conference host officer and Concrete editor-in-chief, said: “I’m so incredibly grateful to everyone that helped bring the conference together and to all those who attended. Norwich has been my home for most of my life, so I’m delighted to have been able to invite over 250 delegates to our campus at the University of East Anglia. #SPANC26 was an incredible success and every winner, nominee and attendee should be so proud of themselves.”

The full list of winners is as follows:

BEST PUBLICATION - sponsored by News Media Association

Winner: The Cheese Grater

BILLY DOWLING-REID AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING COMMITMENT - sponsored by iNHouse Communications

Winner: Harper Alderson, The University Times

Winner: The Apiary

BEST NEWCOMER PUBLICATION - sponsored by Concrete

Winner: Graig Dispatch

Winner: Epigram

Winner: THREAD

BEST OVERALL DIGITAL MEDIA - sponsored by City St George's

Winner: Palatinate

BEST WEBSITE - sponsored by PLMR

Winner: The University Times

BEST PROJECT OR INITIATIVE - sponsored by PLMR

Winner: Roar’s Broadcast, Roar News

Winner: The Courtauldian

BEST SCIENCE PUBLICATION OR SECTION(S) - sponsored by the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW)

Winner: The Boar

Winner: Palatinate

BEST REPORTER - sponsored by Nostrada AI

Winner: Nick Miao, The Cheese Grater

Winner: Isobel Slocombe, Forge Press

Winner: Elodie Cowan, The Saint

Winner: Jason Fong, Strathclyde Telegraph

RISING STAR (BEST NEWCOMER) - sponsored by Kingston University London

Winner: Kaveh Kordestani, Roar News

BEST NEWS STORY - sponsored by News Media Association

Winner: Gazan offer holders arrive in Oxford after evacuation – Conor Walsh and Stanley Smith, Cherwell

BEST INVESTIGATION - sponsored by UEA Journalism

Winner: Women silenced Oxford University Catholic chaplain removed after student sexual abuse complaint – Archie Johnston, Stanley Smith, Arina Makarina, Gaspard Rouffin and Mercedes Haas, Cherwell

BEST FEATURE - sponsored by Diageo

Winner: The Oxford offer holders trapped in Gaza – Stanley Smith, Cherwell

BEST INTERVIEW - sponsored by Bloomberg

Winner: ‘I can’t guarantee my scholarship, or even my life’: Gazan student with Durham scholarship awaits evacuation – Isla Mustin, Palatinate

BEST SCIENCE OR TECH PIECE - sponsored by the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW)

Winner: Inside COP30: What this year’s summit looked like and the part Durham played – Victoria Travers, Palatinate

Winner: Jess’s rule and the cost of reassurance – Isabel Cattermole, The Badger

Winner: My journey with herpes: why it’s not as bad as it seems – Sasha Cowie, The Courier

Winner: So, what was Weapons really about? – Eleanor Bate, Epigram

Winner: ‘The orgasm gap keeps me up at night’: Overheard at UoB’s performative male contest – Sofia Lambis, Epigram

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