On the 5th of April, Gair Rhydd had the honour of attending the Student Publication Association (SPA) National Conference, hosted this year by Exeposé, the student newspaper at the University of Exeter.
We were nominated for three awards this year: Best Sports Section, Best Sports Report, and Best Newspaper Design. If I’m being totally honest, the recognition I hoped for most was in design.
From the moment I began my time as Editor-in-Chief, I knew I wanted to elevate the visual identity of the newspaper, creating something not only informative but also striking, modern, and reader-friendly.
While we didn’t take home wins in the sports categories, we are proud to announce that Gair Rhydd was awarded Highly Commended in the Best Newpaper Design category — officially naming us the second best-designed student newspaper in the entire UK.
This incredible achievement is a testament to the tireless efforts of myself, our dedicated editors, and passionate contributors.
Each edition of Gair Rhydd is the result of countless hours of work, creative experimentation, and a shared commitment to delivering journalism that’s as visually compelling as it is well-written. Unlike many other student publications, we don’t have a dedicated design team. In fact, I personally take on the bulk of the design work and am responsible for shaping the creative vision of the entire newspaper.
Balancing this with editorial leadership has been a challenge — but it’s also what makes this recognition so deeply rewarding.
The SPA Awards are a prestigious recognition within the student journalism community, celebrating the best in student media across the UK and Ireland. To be acknowledged among such high-calibre publications only inspires us to push even further — in our design, the quality of our articles, and our growing social media presence.
This award was judged by Ellie Doughty, a news sub-editor for The Times. This is what she had to say about our publication: ‘Great front page and good formatting and style with the paper name, logo, a grabbing headline and a nicely cut out central image. Love the coordinated colours for different sections, relfective of a professional newspaper design! The use of multimedia elements on each page, byline pictures, maps, fact boxes and graphics break up the text and draws the readers eye effectively.’
Although we didn’t win any awards at the Welsh regional level this year, this national recognition serves as a powerful reminder of what we’re capable of when we aim high and work collaboratively. This pushed us to be better, to sharpen our ideas, refine our processes, and hold ourselves to even higher standards.
Most importantly, it reaffirmed that what we’re building at Gair Rhydd matters, and that our efforts are seen, valued, and respected on a national level.
We have not been recognised on a national level since 2019. After years of striving, evolving, and growing, this recognition feels like a turning point. It reminds us that we’re not just publishing a student paper; we’re part of a national conversation in student journalism, and we’re being noticed for it.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who has supported Gair Rhydd — whether by writing, editing, designing, or reading!