The James Thomas Memorial Prize 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Darrell Chart (left), Nicholas Hall, Elliot Howells, Catrin Wigley and Dr John Jewell.
Catrin Wigley, Elliot Howells and Nicholas Hall were this year’s winners of the James Thomas Memorial Prize.
The Prize was established following the tragic death of Cardiff University School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies (JOMEC) lecturer James Thomas in August 2007.
The competition requires the submission of an original piece of journalism writing and is open to year 11 pupils of Treorchy Comprehensive in The Rhondda, where James attended secondary school.
The award ceremony took place in the Birt Acres lecture theatre in JOMEC on January 20 and was hosted by Dr John Jewell. Book vouchers were presented to the winner, Catrin Wigley by Head of School Professor Justin Lewis.
Elliot Howells and Nicholas Hall also received vouchers finishing in second and third place. Following the ceremony the pupils under took a tour of the building which included the TV and Radio Studios.
Darrell Chart, a JOMEC BA Journalism, Film and Broadcasting graduate and now a secondary school teacher at Treorchy accompanied the pupils.
Dr John Jewell noted the quality and breadth of subjects covered.
The winners of the prize addressed the topics of life in the Rhondda Valley, environmental pollution and teenage pregnancy.
The work submitted covered a broad range of topics from investigations into size zero to the career of Heath Ledger and even the life and times of an Elvis Impersonator!
John Jewell commented “The quality of all the entries was very high indeed. The pupils wrote with feeling and clarity about a range of subjects. James was very proud of his Valley heritage and it is important that we keep his memory alive with initiatives such as this”.