Huw wins the newsquiz Champagne

The trainees with Huw holding the Champagne

The Daily Mail trainee subs finished their training in Kensington this week. They had sessions with senior subs including Jenny Ryan, Michael Owens, Tom Belcher and Chris Dean. Sports trainee Nathan Salt spent most of his week on the sports desk where he had four stories published, including a piece on the European Fantasy Football team of the week. 

You can read it here. Meanwhile the reporting trainees, who are now on their placements, continue to deliver good stories including Jake Hurfurt’s spread in the Irish Mail on Sunday on Dublin’s housing crisis.

As always we finished the week with the newsquiz. The top scorer among the Mail’s trainees was Huw Oliver with 15.5, making him a comfortable winner over the four weeks. He collected a bottle of Champagne as his prize. Some of the trainees head off on placement now while Tessa Jones heads back to her job as a sub on Weekend magazine. I wish them well on the next stage.

In Howden the Daily Telegraph trainees were on the second week of their course. They had sessions with Paul Jones, David Banks, Errol Murray, Andy Mackenzie and Silvia Costeloe. They too finished with the newsquiz and the top scorer, also with 15.5, was Jamie Johnson. 

Last week's online top solo scorer in the newsquiz was Jake Hurfurt with 17 while the top team were the drinkers in the Three Legs brewery. Here is this week's quiz. Give it a go, see if you can beat Huw and Jamie's 15.5 and let me know how you get on. 

The newsquiz

1. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the party conference in Brighton that ‘we are now the political ______’. What is the missing word?
2. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour would take control of almost £60billion worth of PFI contracts. What does PFI stand for?
3. Who asked Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell five times whether he would support illegal strikes - and got no answer?
4. Labour MP Emma Dent Coad admitted she might have been wrong but refused to apologise for her comments about whom?
5. The Conservative Party conference will be held in which city next week?
6. How many seats in the German parliament did Alternative für Deutschland win?
7. What is the name of Alternative für Deutschland’s co-leader who quit after leading her party into third place in the German elections?
8. The UK's Civil Aviation Authority gave Ryanair a deadline to correct its compensation policy for passengers after thousands of its flights were cancelled. What exactly (time and date) was the deadline?
9. Michelin star chef Mark Sergeant was involved in a row with food inspectors from Shepway council over the way his Rocksalt restaurant in Folkestone cooked what?
10. Oxford student Lavinia Woodward, who stabbed her lover with a breadknife, was given a prison sentence which was suspended for 18 months. How long was the prison sentence for?
11. Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes said she used to do what every day to try to overcome the anguish caused by injuries she thought would threaten her career?
12. Liz Dawn, who died age 77, played which Coronation Street character for more than 30 years?
13. Gareth Barry, playing for West Bromwich Albion against Arsenal, broke Ryan Giggs’s record for the most Premier League appearances and was presented with a shirt by Arsene Wenger that had the number on the back. What was the number?
14. Who famously said: 'I am a kid in a candy store. I dreamed impossible dreams …. I'm the luckiest cat on the planet’?
15. Actor Tony Booth who died this week had two famous daughters, Cherie Blair and Lauren Booth, but how many daughters did he have in total?
16. Why was two-year-old Emily Henson in the headlines?
17. Name the computer check-in system which crashed at airports around the world.
18. The largest supplier of chicken to UK supermarkets has been accused of tampering with food safety records and altering the slaughter date of poultry? What is the group called?
19. Prince Harry was joined by girlfriend Meghan Markel for their first official engagement together at the wheelchair tennis semi-finals at the Invictus games. Which two teams were playing? Half a point for each.
20. England cricketer Ben Stokes was arrested after a brawl outside which Bristol nightclub?
21. What did George Clooney, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Pharrell Williams and Bette Midler all publicly support?
22. Which ‘historic’ royal order, which was announced this week, will be implemented by June 24, 2018?
23. Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero was injured in a car crash in Amsterdam, hours after attending a concert by whom?
24. An Audrey Hepburn script fetched a record £632,000 at auction. Which film was it for?
25. JK Rowling tweeted: 'Incompetent clowns in power and the opposition turning into a solipsistic personality cult. I'm so ****ing depressed. Send ____ pictures.’ What is the missing word?

Answers here

Can you beat Huw's newsquiz score?

The Mail's trainee subs and some of their pages

The Daily Mail trainee subs had a good week creating pages on InDesign and Photoshop with Mike Brough and learning features subbing with Fiona Webster. 

Sports trainee Nathan Salt spent time in the sports department and one of his stories, on the youngsters being given a chance in the Caraboa Cup, was published. You can read it here. 

Nathan's story on young talents in the Carabao Cup

The trainees out on placement were chalking up success stories too. Faye White wrote the splash in yesterday's Irish Daily Mail while Courtney Bartlett worked in the London newsroom on stories including the murder of a head teacher from Taunton. 

Faye White's splash in the Irish Daily Mail

The MailOnline trainees were also busy. Bridie Pearson-Jones wrote the splash in the Oxford Mail today on the parents facing a £100,000 hospital bill. Connor Boyd had a good story on a mother who lost nine-stone by giving up cheese in the Sunday Post and Amanda Cashmore had the splash in the Sunday Sun with a story about a young woman facing deportation. Meanwhile Kate Buck's report on her day-trip to North Korea was well-read on MailOnline.
The Daily Telegraph course started in Howden this week too where Mark Wray, Paul Jones and Malcolm Starbrook put the trainees through their paces.
Both sets of trainees finished the week with the newsquiz. Last week's top online scorer was Lydia Willgress (aided by pizza) with 19, narrowly ahead of Dominic Hurst's 18.5.
This week's top trainee was Mail sub-editor Huw Oliver with 16.5. The Telegraph trainee was Jamie Johnson with 12. Give it a go and see if you can beat Huw's score.  
  
The newsquiz

1. TFL said it would withdraw Uber’s London licence from September 30 but would give the company how many days to lodge an appeal?

2. One of the reasons TFL gave for withdrawing Uber’s licence was its use of software that could block regulatory bodies from 'gaining full access to the app and prevent officials from undertaking law enforcement duties.’ What is the software called?

3. The venue for Theresa May’s major Brexit speech was one of Florence’s most famous churches. Name it. 

4. Asked whether there was a Cabinet split on Europe, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: 'No, we are a Government working together. We are a ____ ____ _____ ____.’ What are the four missing words?

5. Theresa May warned technology companies, including Google and Facebook, they will face punishing fines unless they remove terrorist propaganda within what timescale?
6. Who admitted this week: 'We make mistakes. This time we made a major boo boo’?
7. According to a study by researchers Oxford Economics what two things that people do are the real keys to happiness? Half a point for each
8. Tata Steel Europe, which employs 4,000 in Port Talbot, has agreed a merger with a rival from which country?
9. US President Donald Trump told the UN general assembly that ‘____ ____ is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime’. What are the missing two words?
10. Which 14th century English word, meaning an old person especially one who has become weak or senile, did Kim Jong-un use to describe Donald Trump, saying he would tame him with fire?
11. The 18-year-old Iraqi refugee suspect who was arrested in the Parsons Green bombing was fostered by a couple in which town?
12. The former MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, who served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, announced she was suffering from brain cancer. What is her name?
13. According to the Office for National Statistics, Oliver and Olivia were the most popular names in England and Wales in 2016, but which names came second in the lists for boys and girls? Half a point for each.
14. What does French chef Sébastien Bras no longer want?
15. A chant aimed at a Premier League footballer has been described as a ‘racist’ and a 'cheap and insulting stereotype’. Who is the player?
16. The boxer who inspired the film Raging Bull has died aged 95. Name him.
17. Former head teacher Emma Kelty from Taunton was murdered trying to kayak the length of what?
18. Liliane Bettencourt, the world’s richest woman with an estimated worth of £30billion, died this week aged 94. She was the heiress to which cosmetics firm?
19. Wayne Rooney was given a two-year driving ban, after pleading guilty to drink driving, and also ordered to do how many hours of unpaid work?
20. Why was Sir Christopher Geidt in the news?
21. William G Stewart, who died aged 84, hosted which Channel 4 quiz show from 1988 to 2003?
22. Sue and Noel Radford, the parents of Britain's biggest family, welcomed baby number 20. What is he called?
23. It emerged that Frida Sofia never existed … but who was she originally believed to be?
24. England women’s team manager Mark Sampson was sacked by the FA for 'inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour' in his previous managerial role. Where was that role?
25. A Polish drinks company changed the name of its lemonade after lawyers said it infringed the trademark and personal rights of their famous client. What was the drink called?

Answers here

Courtney wins the newsquiz Champagne

The Daily Mail trainees 2017 ... with Courtney holding the Champagne

The Daily Mail trainees had another busy week in London with Mike Watson, Sue Ryan and me. They had sessions with sketch writer Quentin Letts, head of news Ben Taylor, managing editor Alex Bannister and editor emeritus Peter Wright who went through the Editor’s Code in detail. On Tuesday they had a day with the Mail’s lawyers on defamation, contempt, copyright, privacy and the Bribery Act. Congratulations to sports trainee Nathan Salt who had his story on the clash between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel published online. You can read it here.

We finished the week, as always, with the newsquiz. The top online score last week was 13.5 by the Penmans, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe and Toby Brown. The low scores made Courtney Bartlett’s 18 all the more impressive. Courtney won the quiz again with another 18 this week. He was narrowly ahead of Oli Gamp on 17.5 and Jacob Furedi and Huw Oliver on 17. Good scores. Courtney collected the Champagne for being the highest scoring reporter over the two weeks. Well done to him. There were also awards to Georgia Edkins, Jake Hurfurt and Courtney for best intros. The reporters leave Derry Street this weekend and head off on placements in Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool and Bristol. I wish them well. The others have another two weeks’ training to go. Here’s this week’s quiz … 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.
  

Hurricane Irma and Paul Hollywood grace the front of the Mail
(Question 4 and 15)

1. MPs passed the EU (Withdrawal) Bill with a Government majority of how many?
2. How many Labour MPs defied Jeremy Corbyn’s three-line whip and voted with the Government in favour of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill?
3. Who told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that 'the wind was back in Europe’s sails’?
4. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the Royal Marines on the hurricane-hit island of Anguilla was 'the biggest operation our armed forces have conducted since ____’. What is the missing word?
5. Theresa May said new police recruits had 'a real terms increase of what per cent' since 2010? 
6. The DUP supported two Labour motions in the House of Commons. What were they? Half a point for each.
7. Commuters were injured after an explosion on a London Underground train at which tube station?
8. The first Premier League manager was sacked after losing four games and his team failing to score. Name the team and the manager. Half a point for each.
9. He introduced London audiences to the work of Samuel Beckett with the UK premiere of Waiting for Godot, founded the Royal Shakespeare Company and was knighted in 1977. Who is he?
10. Nick Clegg and his wife Miriam, speaking on the television show Lorraine, revealed their 15-year-old son Antonio had been diagnosed with which form of rare cancer last year?
11. The UK's first named storm of the year lashed the country with gale force winds of 83mph. What was the storm called?
12. Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr made her first public appearance. Who is her mother?
13. The International Olympic Committee awarded the 2024 and the 2028 summer games to which two cities? Half a point for each.
14. The headteacher of which school has told pupils to be in bed by 9pm, up at 6.30am and that they'll be given buckets to vomit in if they feel sick in class?
15. TV baker Paul Hollywood said he was devastated after a 2003 picture of him wearing a Nazi uniform emerged. Hollywood said he was dressed as a character from which television show?
16. The Museum of London requested a piece of what to exhibit - saying it would help highlight the challenges faced by the world's cities?
17. The daughter of Holby City actor John Michie was found dead on the fringe of which music festival?
18. Cyclist Chris Froome became only the third rider to achieve what in the same year? 
19. Pope Francis got a black eye and blood on his white cape when the Popemobile braked sharply during a procession in which country?
20. What did Francia Raisa give her best friend?
21. Sir Cliff Richard is selling his 300-year-old farmhouse and its surrounding vineyard - in which country?
22. A space probe’s 20-year mission is ending with it plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere. What is it called?
23. Why were Nigel and Sally Rowe in the headlines?
24. Photographer David Slater was embroiled in court case over who owned the copyright of a selfie taken on his camera but not by him? Who took the picture?
25. According to Esquire magazine, what does former Chancellor George Osborne want in his freezer? 

Answers here

Courtney wins this week's newsquiz

Thirteen trainees started the Daily Mail training scheme in Derry Street this week. Seven are reporters, including two on the Stephen Lawrence fellowship, four are subs including one for Weekend magazine and one will be heading to sport. They have been training with Mike Watson and me but have also had sessions with chief reporter Sam Greenhill, invesigations editor Paul Bentley and Harriet Sime from showbusiness. They have been pitching story ideas and Georgia Edkins gained a byline on MailOnline for helping with a story on Stormzy. You can read it here. 

As always we finished with the newsquiz - 25 questions about the week’s events. The top online scorers in last week's quiz were Janet Boyle and Dominic Hurst who both scored 16, the same score as my mates in the Three Legs. Nobody could beat the 18 by trainee Tim Stickings though. This week’s top scorer was Courtney Bartlett, also with an impressive 18. Well played to him. Here are the questions, see if you can do better. 

The EU and the Royals (Questions 6, 7 and 12)

1. US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's 'abusive use of missiles and nuclear threats show he is _____ for war’. What is the missing word?
2. What is the name of the school where Prince George started this week?
3. What is the severe form of morning sickness which forced the Duchess of Cambridge to cancel all engagements including taking Prince George to school on his first day?
4. Who took his family and guests into his wine cellar to shelter as Hurricane Irma destroyed his house above?
5. The Government was criticised for not reacting quickly enough to help British territories in the path of Hurricane Irma. One of those territories is the Turks and Caicos. Name the other two. Half a point for each.
6. Former attorney general Dominic Grieve called the European Union withdrawal bill an ‘astonishing _________ ‘. What is the missing word?
7. An 82-page Home Office paper on Britain's plans to end EU freedom of movement of labour after Brexit was leaked to which newspaper?
8. Who said: 'Our economic model is broken. Britain stands at a watershed moment where we need to make fundamental choices about the sort of economy we need’?
9. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, in an interview with Good Morning Britain, described what as ‘morally indefensible?
10. What is the hashtag, intended to raise Jacob Rees-Mogg's profile among young voters, that was hijacked by LGBT users who posted images of same-sex couples?
11. What was the name of the 29-year-old woman who Wayne Rooney was driving home when he was stopped for drink driving?
12. One magazine featured an exclusive interview with Prince Harry’s girlfriend, another featured Prince Willam’s wife and was ordered to pay €103,000. Name the two magazines. Half a point for each

13. Who received this year’s Lifetime Achievement award at the TV Choice Awards in London?
14. Who scored the first goal in the charity game at Loftus Road for the Grenfell Tower survivors?
15. What, according to a new guide, sells for an average of £3.31 in Yorkshire and Herefordshire and £4.40 in Surrey?
16. Fifa rejected Leicester City’s application to register Adrien Silva because it missed the deadline. How late was it?
17. Which city has been chosen to represent England’s bid to host 2022 Commonwealth games
18. What was found on an Easyjet flight from Glasgow which grounded a plane in Paris?
19. The Foreign Office's cat has killed at least 27 mice, a Freedom of Information request has revealed. What is the cat called?
20. Walter Becker died aged 67. Which jazz rock band did he found?
21. The US attorney general said the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy would end next year leading to uncertainty for 800,000 people who are known as what?
22. Why has Tarot-card reader Maria Pilar Abel Martinez been in the headlines?
23. How did 41-year-old Aaron Joel Mitchell die?
24. Why was Piers Morgan disappointed with his old school, the Priory in Lewes?
25. Sufferers of ‘cyberchondria’ are now costing the NHS at least £420million a year, say experts. What is cyberchondria.

Answers here

Dianne collects the newsquiz Champagne

The trainees this afternoon with newsquiz winner Dianne holding the champagne

I said goodbye to the MailOnline trainees today who are heading off on their placements at regional newspapers and agencies. They had a lively final week with Adam Tinworth, Sue Ryan, social media editor Chris Lawrence, Metro.co.uk executives Deborah Arthurs and Richard Hartley-Parkinson, assistant news editor Amanda Williams and Natalie Glanvill from the managing editor's office. They also met the visiting Australian trainees who were passing through London on their way back to Sydney. Last night we had a few drinks with their newsroom colleagues, including some former  trainees, at the Greyhound.

Today there were course awards to Kate McGreavy for most stories published, Tim Stickings and Abigail Gillibrand for best picture headlines, Danny Hussain for best intro, Phoebe Southworth for best headline writing and Bridie Pearson-Jones for best showbiz headline.   

We finished, as always, with the newsquiz. The top solo score online last week was 15 by Liz Gerard, not quite enough to beat an impressive 18 scored by trainee Danny Hussain. The top team score online was 19 by Lydia Willgress and James Dunn. This week's highest scorer on the course was Tim Stickings with 18 out of 25. But despite a strong score, Tim was unable to catch Dianne Apen-Sadler whose 15 made her the overall winner over the four weeks with an average score of just over 16. She won a bottle of Champagne for consistent good news knowledge. Well done to Dianne and to all of the trainees for some good work over the four weeks. They are bright and likeable and I wish them well in the next stage.
Here's this week's newsquiz ... 25 questions about the week's events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.  

Elderly people waiting to be rescued in Houston, Texas (Questions  5 and 6)

1. British Prime Minister Theresa May said in Japan this week: 'I said I wasn't a _____, and there's a long-term job to do, there's an important job to be done in the United Kingdom.’ What is the missing word?
2. Theresa May gave her Japanese counterpart something framed and signed by the Choshu Five - noblemen who went on to shape modern-day Japan. What was it?
3. The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator said Britain’s approach to Brexit was nostalgic, unrealistic and undermined by a lack of trust. What is his name?
4. Who quit as party leader this week saying it was time 'to pass that baton on’ to someone who had 'fresh energy, drive and a new mandate’?
5. Hot on the heels of hurricane Harvey, which caused devastation in Texas, came another Category 3 hurricane in the eastern Atlantic. What was it called?

6. Which magazine controversially ran a front cover showing people carrying flags with swastikas drowning in Texas?
7. The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry paid tribute to their mother on the 20th anniversary of her death at a memorial at Kensington Palace which was made especially for the occasion. What is the memorial called?
8. Why were Ryszard Masierak and David Wagstaff in the headlines?
9. Police will evacuate about 70,000 people from their homes on Sunday after an unexploded World War Two bomb was discovered in which city?
10. More than 230 people needed medical help for breathing difficulties, vomiting and stinging eyes after a toxic cloud hovered over which landmark?
11. Four public schools, including Eton college and Charterhouse, were caught up in allegations of exam cheating. Name the other two (half a point for each).
12. Play was suspended after a crossbow bolt was fired on to the field at which cricket ground?
13. Why did 21-year-old Shane Ridge receive an apology?
14. Which online betting company has been fined £7.8million for failing to safeguard their customers
15. Two fooballers switched Premier League sides for fees of £35m on transfer deadline day, Name them. Half a point for each
16. People at the Notting Hill carnival were asked to wear which colour for Grenfell, to remember the fire victims?
17. He wrote a column for the FT, founded a fashion chain, operated private clubs and restaurants and was knighted in 2008. Who is he?
18. What was the job of Mohiussunnath Chowdhury who appeared at Westminster mag­­istrates charged with preparing an act of terrorism after being arrested outside Buckingham Palace?
19. In which round did boxer Floyd Mayweather stop Connor McGregor to win his 50th professional fight?
20. A Tennessee theatre cancelled a long-running screening of which famous film over complaints that it is racially insensitive?
21. Who was arrested after a night out at The Bubble Room?

22. The deportation of Afghan asylum seeker Samim Bigzad failed after the pilot from which airline refused to take off at Heathrow with Bigzad on board?
23. Luton was named as the worst UK Airport in a Which survey based on passenger satisfaction. Which airport was the best?
24. What did Lord Jericho destroy?
25. France has a new 'first dog' - a two-year old black labrador-griffon cross adopted by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron from an animal rescue centre. What is it called?

Answers here