30th September 2025
Everyone’s talking about student podcasts 🎤
Everyone’s talking about podcasts. At the Shine School Media Awards this year, they were our fastest growing category. There’s no question: students who master them are building a serious advantage.
Podcasting teaches invaluable skills: research, storytelling, interviewing, editing and as the projects grow, how to build audience engagement. They are unique in today’s media for their immediacy and accessibility. Best of all, they are often cost-neutral. Students can create professional-quality podcasts using just their (or a parent’s) phone and apps like Anchor or GarageBand. At our 2025 awards, most schools shared their student podcasts on Spotify.
The possibilities are endless:
Investigative series, interview shows, storytelling projects, debate formats possibly solo but ideally as a team. With our 2026 theme ‘Abuse of Power,’ students could explore everything from local issues to discussing global corruption through compelling audio storytelling.No fancy equipment needed:
We know some schools have microphones and editing suites, but we’ve found the best podcasts often come from students with nothing but creativity and a smartphone. YouTube tutorials can simplify the mastering, editing and distribution process.Getting started is easy:
Even if your students’ podcast are a germ of an idea today, that’s just fine. Register with us and your Shine journey will begin. We’re happy to offer help and encouragement through to our May 2026 deadline.
The Shine School Media Awards celebrates all student publishing formats, but podcasting offers something special: the chance to find and grow an audience while building skills that matter in today’s media landscape.
A self-initiated media project will help your students shine – and rise.
Best wishes,
Richard Chapman
Chair, Shine School Media Awards