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The Student Publication Association (SPA) is a national body for student newspapers and magazines in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The SPA aims to provide support and training for student journalists, encourage best practice, and recognise success. It is a non-profit body run by a team of 26 volunteers, with six elected committee members, eight appointed regional officers, and up to eight trustees. Currently it has more than 200 member publications across the two countries. The association was formed in 2012 and holds an annual national conference and awards ceremony for student journalists, as well as other various initiatives throughout the year. In 2020, the SPA was entered onto the register of charities as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.


Governing Structure

The organisation is made up of five elected committee members, who are usually students or recent graduates. The team for 2024/25 is as follows: * Chair: Jack Walsh * Training & Opportunities Officer: Joe McFadden * Communications Officer: Matthew Stothard * Conference & Events Officer: * Sponsorship Officer: Libby Elliott * Membership Officer: Rory Bucherri The executive committee is supported by a team of eight regional officers and overseen by a trustee board of established journalists, some of which are elected and some appointed. The trustee board is currently made up of the following: * Aubrey Allegretti * Jem Collins * Geri Scott * Richard Brooks * Ollie Cole * Anttoni Numminen * James Mole * Emma Penney


National Awards

The Student Publication Association runs a national awards scheme for students in the UK and Republic of Ireland, which been in place since 2013. Since the closure of the Guardian Student Media Awards in 2016 the awards have become the only full set of journalism awards for students in the UK. They are judged by professional journalists across the industry and in 2024, a record 1246 entries were received.


#SPANC

In addition to a number of smaller regional conferences, the organisation holds an annual national conference during the Easter holidays. The conference is held across three days at a UK university, and features talks and workshops from professional journalists, as well as the annual SPA Awards presentation evening. Currently, the conference has been held in: * Southampton (2013) * Nottingham Trent (2014) * Southampton (2015) * Loughborough (2016) * Leeds (2017) * Cardiff (2018) * York (2019) * Online (2020) * Online (2021) * Sheffield (2022) * Glasgow (2023) * Bristol (2024) * Exeter (2025)


See also

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Canadian University Press Canadian University Press is a non-profit co-operative and newswire service owned by more than 50 student newspapers at post-secondary schools in Canada. Founded in 1938, CUP is the oldest student newswire service in the world and the oldest ...
*
Associated Collegiate Press The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States. The ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association. It awards the newspaper, maga ...


References


External links

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Student Publication Association page at Facebook
British companies established in 2013 Student organisations in the United Kingdom News agencies based in the United Kingdom {{UK-newspaper-stub