EXAMS

We’ve almost got a totally different reporting team today, as three of our five reporters have gone to Newcastle, to sit their senior exams.

Inspite of the lack of our regular reporters, everything seems to be on an even keel, as we start to negotiate the difficult week ahead.

I’m just hoping today is not the calm before the storm, and we can maintain this steady start over the next three days.

Exams as we all know, can certainly be a fraught time, so I’d just like to take this opportunity to wish Michael, Lucy and Natasha all the best. They’ve certainly worked hard over the last 18 months and deserve success.

Their preparations certainly brought back memories of the day I sat my NCTJ (National Council for the Training of Journalists) exam. Everything was going well until I hit a technical problem with my computer keyboard.

I was trying not to disturb the others, but as the panic set in and the frustration grew with the dodgy two keys (they kept sticking) on the keyboard, I was on the brink of smashing it. However the day was saved when my guardian angel, a very calm and kind lady, who quickly spotted the problem and replaced the keyboard.

So it’s not always the exam questions but other factors which can sabotage your best efforts. Fortunately, I managed to survive my ordeal, and was delighted when I was one of the fortunate 40 per cent, whose name appeared in the Press Gazette indicating I had passed.