Best wishes of the season… and a taste of things to come in 2026

As the year draws to a close, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s got involved in the Shine School Media Awards in 2025.

Chairing the awards is an incredible experience and means I meet some amazing students and teachers in the course of the year. The ingenuity, creativity, thoughtfulness and sense of humour and fun I find again and again in the students that enter the competition is inspiring and genuinely uplifting.

As we head into 2026, we’ve got some really exciting news about a new project launching in the Spring Term.

We’re bringing back our weekly podcast series… with a twist. In ‘Ask the Winner’, past Shine Award winners share the real stories behind their projects: the challenges, breakthroughs and practical advice for students starting a school newspaper, magazine or podcast.

The series launches in early January and I can’t wait to share it.

Until then, best wishes of the season,

Richard Chapman
Chair, Shine School Media Awards