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DepEd National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) – Individual Contests — A Philippine Campus Journalism Contest, 10 Individual Categories at Elementary and Secondary Level in English and Filipino

DepEd National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) - Individual Contests: The Philippines' Department of Education (DepEd) campus journalism competition under...

e By Luke Justin October 21, 2026 4 min read

New here? Start with the basicsAge groups, competition categories and how to set up your event.

Academic & Youth Fair · Campus Journalism

The Philippines’ Department of Education (DepEd) campus journalism competition under Republic Act 7079, run School-District-Division-Regional-National: 10 individual categories (News/Feature/Editorial/Sports/Column/Science & Technology Writing, Copyreading and Headline Writing, Photojournalism, Editorial Cartooning, Mobile Journalism) at Elementary and Secondary level, English and Filipino, 38 item-group assignments. Individual Contests only – Group Contests and School Paper are a separate, not-yet-built template.

Sets up a Philippine schools press conference for individual contestants: ten journalism categories from news writing to photojournalism and mobile journalism, two grade bands, English and Filipino entries, and the printed fifteen placings.

This template rebuilds the individual contests of the Philippines’ national schools press conference, the campus journalism competition held under the Campus Journalism Act of 1991. It climbs five tiers: school, district, division, region and national. A coordinator opens an event that already carries two grade bands, ten categories and the printed placings, instead of keying a long programme in by hand before registrations open.

There are ten categories. Six are writing: news, feature, editorial, sports, column, and science and technology writing. Copyreading and headline writing tests editing, photojournalism and editorial cartooning cover the visual side, and mobile journalism was added in 2024 for secondary students only. Group contests such as radio and television broadcasting, collaborative desktop publishing and online publishing, and the school paper contest, are not part of this template.

Contestants are grouped by grade, not age: Elementary covers Grades 1 to 6 and Secondary covers Grades 7 to 12. The 6 to 12 and 13 to 18 age spans are a working band used to build the groups. Every category runs separately in English and in Filipino, one contestant per school per category per language, and boys and girls compete together. That gives 38 item-group entries: ten categories in two languages for two bands, less the secondary-only mobile journalism entries at the elementary level.

Each entry is scored out of 100. The programme prints judging splits for five items: news writing at 40, 50 and 10 for form and style, content and ethics; editorial writing on the same split; feature writing at 30, 60 and 10; copyreading at 60 and headline writing at 40; and mobile journalism at 40 for journalism principles, 40 for accuracy and 20 for broadcast quality. The other five items carry no printed breakdown here, so the panel agrees its own weights. Placings run from first to fifteenth, worth 15 points down to 1, toward the overall standing. Time limits, quotas and on-the-spot rules are not modelled; apply them at registration.

Where this event comes from

The contest is run by the Philippines’ Department of Education under the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, with each tier qualifying contestants for the next. This template follows the 2024 national and 2025 division memoranda.

Where this event is run

The Philippines, in public and private elementary and secondary schools, as a ladder from school to national level. The structure suits any organiser staging a student journalism or writing contest that mixes written pieces, editing, photography, cartooning and mobile reporting, with separate language tracks and fifteen ranked places. It is less suited to a performing-arts festival or to one that needs printed marks for every category.

Philippines (school press conference, school to national tiers)

Key facts

Two grade bands: NSPC Elementary (Grades 1 to 6) and NSPC Secondary (Grades 7 to 12), individual entries only
Ten categories, each run in English and in Filipino; mobile journalism is secondary only
38 item-group entries; every entry is marked out of 100
Judging splits are printed for five items only; the other five leave weights to the panel
Fifteen placings, from 15 points for first down to 1 point for fifteenth

Age groups: 2
Competition items: 10
Competitions: 38
Grade bands: 0
Rank awards: 15

Age groups

Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.

NSPC Elementary

6From

–

12To

Candidates aged 6 to 12 compete in this group

NSPC Secondary

13From

–

18To

Candidates aged 13 to 18 compete in this group

Competition items

The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.

Competitions by group

The full schedule matrix, sectioned by age group then category — which item runs for whom, and for how long.

Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
NSPC Elementary
Creative Writing
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
News Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
News Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Feature Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Feature Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Editorial Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Editorial Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Sports Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Sports Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Copyreading and Headline Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Copyreading and Headline Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Science and Technology Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Science and Technology Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Column Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Column Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Multimedia
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Photojournalism	Individual	—	English	100	—
Photojournalism	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Art
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Editorial Cartooning	Individual	—	English	100	—
Editorial Cartooning	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
NSPC Secondary
Creative Writing
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
News Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
News Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Feature Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Feature Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Editorial Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Editorial Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Sports Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Sports Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Copyreading and Headline Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Copyreading and Headline Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Science and Technology Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Science and Technology Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Column Writing	Individual	—	English	100	—
Column Writing	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Multimedia
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Photojournalism	Individual	—	English	100	—
Photojournalism	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Mobile Journalism	Individual	—	English	100	—
Mobile Journalism	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—
Art
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Editorial Cartooning	Individual	—	English	100	—
Editorial Cartooning	Individual	—	Filipino	100	—

Grades and ranks

How scores turn into grade bands, and how many points each placing is worth.

Grade	For	Condition	Score	Points

Rank	For	Points
First		15
Second		14
Third		13
Fourth		12
Fifth		11
Sixth		10
Seventh		9
Eighth		8
Ninth		7
Tenth		6
Eleventh		5
Twelfth		4
Thirteenth		3
Fourteenth		2
Fifteenth		1

Frequently asked questions

Can I change this template after installing it?

Yes — installing it creates a fully configured, live event, not a locked package. Every age group, competition item, rule and scoring setting can be edited afterwards to match exactly what your event actually needs.