Anyone with concerns about the future of the TV industry may have found comfort at the Yorkshire Centre’s Student Awards at York Racecourse in November.

Presented with great aplomb by ITV News Calendar’s Sally Simpson, the theme of the evening seemed to be “quality not quantity”. As several of the judges who attended the event commented; while the number of entries might have been down, the quality was up.

There was some sensitive and impressive journalism in the factual and news categories with a huge range of stories covered, from an enduring love story, to a surprise wedding to a tale of adrenaline junkie motorcyclists.

The news category was won by the University of Sheffield for Sexabled, a brave and frank discussion of sex and sexuality in the disabled community. Sheffield Hallam took home the factual prize for Scratch, which told the uplifting story of Matt Howes, a talented club DJ who lost his arm in a moped accident.

Standards were also high in the animation category. The judges felt compelled to recognise all four entrants but the ultimate winner was Sheffield Hallam University with the inventive and bittersweet film, Illuminated. Animation skills were also honoured in the open category with the University of Leeds winning the award for the amusing short, Fridge Wars.

The scripted categories showed incredible promise. The comedy and entertainment award was contested by a wacky gameshow and a dating format, but the ultimate winner was Sheffield Hallam’s cheeky, edgy sitcom ICT.

The drama category also gave cause for great optimism with an emotional war drama and a creepy thriller about the dangers of social media catching the judges’ eyes. However, the winner was a well-paced and genuinely chilling supernatural horror film. The Unveiling from the University of York completed a great evening.