National award for the Gazette's Becca Choules

Gazette reporter Becca Choules has won a national award after passing her NQJ examinations to become a senior reporter.

Becca, who joined the Gazette team 18 months ago, won the Society of Editors’ award for the best news interview.

She said: “I was absolutely over the moon to learn I had passed my NQJ exams, because I was so sure I’d have to re-sit. It was even more of a shock to be told my news interview paper had been chosen for the Society of Editors’ award. It was the icing on the cake.”

The senior examiner said: “Rebecca showed she has a good nose for hard news. She captured the drama of the story, but did not forsake the details. Her phrasing was excellent.

“She captured the reader’s attention immediately with a strong intro and backed it up with a compelling read from start to finish. Congratulations.”

Gazette content editor Ben Raza said: “It has been a real pleasure to work with Becca since we both joined the team 18 months ago.

“It’s rare to meet a reporter with so much pride in their local community, and such personal integrity. As a Tring girl born and bred she knows the patch extremely well - I couldn’t imagine a better chief reporter.”