Students and staff at Harlow College have been paying tribute to Patron of Harlow School of Journalism, award-winning journalist and broadcaster John Stapleton, who died on Sunday (September 21).

John was a huge supporter of journalism courses at Harlow College and visited on more than one occasion to talk to students. They were inspired by his experiences, by the war zones he had visited, by the politicians he had interviewed throughout the world and by his enthusiasm for the profession.

He had an extra special association with the College as he trained there in the 1960s when it was one of the top providers in the country of the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Diploma.

John’s career began as a journalist in local newspapers and progressed to Fleet Street where he worked on two national newspapers.

After a seven-year spell in regional TV he became a presenter on the BBC’s hugely popular Nationwide programme for five years and later a foreign correspondent with Panorama and Newsnight.

On those programmes John reported from trouble spots in the Middle East, El Salvador and spent three months covering the Falklands war while based in Argentina. He co-presented the BBC Watchdog programme with his late wife Lynn Faulds Wood for seven years, hosted the ITV daytime chat show The Time the Place and spent 17 years as a presenter at GMTV, Daybreak and Good Morning Britain.

During that time John covered the Balkan War in Kosovo, the Tsunami in South East Asia, four American elections and just about every major news story in the UK. John has interviewed every Prime Minister since James Callaghan.

John, who became a patron in 2017, told Harlow College students that one of the highlights of his career was being awarded the Royal Television Society’s Presenter of the Year in 2004 for his work covering the war in Iraq and a series of interviews with, amongst others, the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair

Former journalism student Charlotte Crick reported on one of his visits to Harlow and wrote: ‘He explained the biggest struggle in being a journalist was by not being prepared to put in the hard work. ‘John said he ‘learnt the hard way’, having stories rejected by his first job. He encouraged the students to look at failure as crucial in becoming a better journalist. Being able to persevere in this industry was something of importance to John as it was how he believed he succeeded within his career.’

Journalist and tutor at Harlow College Dr Pamela Jenner said: ‘I first met John when we both studied the NCTJ course at Harlow. We both went on to work for newspapers in London.

‘He was delighted to become our patron, taking the role seriously and always asking to be kept informed of the progress of our students. He continued to support us even after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and will long be remembered by all of us associated with journalism courses at Harlow.’

Harlow College Principal Karen Spencer said: ‘John was an inspiration to our students and staff alike. His generosity in sharing his experiences and his passion for journalism left a lasting impression on everyone who had the privilege of meeting him. As a former student of Harlow himself, John had a special connection to the College, and we were honoured to have him as Patron of the School of Journalism. His legacy will live on through the many students he inspired to pursue their own careers in journalism.’

Previous alumni at Harlow College include: Piers Morgan, Richard Madeley, Sophy Ridge and Mark Knopfler.

Photo: Some of the journalism students at Harlow College with, front row, left to right, Pamela Jenner; assistant academy manager Lewis Heritage; John Stapleton and college principal Karen Spencer.