27th January 2026
Mabel Lea on creating a space for students to express themselves
Hello everybody,
This week on ‘Ask the Winner,’ I’m talking to Mabel Lea, winner of the 2023 Editor of the Year award for her school magazine Exia.
Mabel’s story is particularly interesting because she didn’t start from scratch. The magazine was in its second year of existence when she became editor-in-chief.
“The year before, it was being built from nothing, which is an incredible achievement. I wanted to get involved as soon as it became a thing. I did an article and a bit of editing in that first year. I just fell in love with it really. I was so passionate about making something where we as students could express ourselves through in a way that didn’t really exist.”
When the position for junior editor came up – someone from a younger year – Mabel went for it. That became her training ground before stepping into the editor-in-chief role in year 13.
‘There was so much we wanted to say’
The timing of Mabel’s editorship was significant. “We were still adjusting to school out of lockdown again. We had so much that we wanted to say – so much was happening in the media and it felt like the world was changing at an accelerated rate. We all just wanted to express ourselves and talk about it.”
In addition the magazine itself became symbolic. It was released on Red Thursday – an event students organised to stand up against rising sexist behaviour in the school and online. They made badges to go alongside the message and used Exia as a space to talk about things that mattered.
“I said to people, I want you to write about your passions – which perhaps they would have done anyway, but to give them that boost to be like, you can write about anything you want and we’ll help turn it into something publishable.”
Working with what you have
One detail particularly stands out. “We were really proud that we had made this magazine at a state school, using the free version of Canva. We didn’t have a big media editing suite or anything. We were just really passionate and put it together with what we could.”
Mabel worked with creative director Olivia, who volunteered and applied for the role. “I chose her for her vision of the magazine, which I thought was just beautiful. Some of the pages were stunning and really spoke to the messages of the articles themselves. They married together so well.”
“One of the reasons why I always love magazines is that it’s not just a newspaper or articles online – it’s something you can hold in front of you that’s really pretty.”
Make a space for students to express themselves
Mabel’s advice for this year’s entrants is simple but powerful:
“One of the reasons why the magazine went down so well with the school is that we tapped into things that students wanted discuss. We wanted an open opportunity to get involved and just express ourselves together. If there’s any way you can make a space like that for your students, any school magazine would do a really good job of that. That’s the secret to a magazine that serves its community really well.”
I hope Mabel’s story encourages you to think about your school magazine as more than just a publication – it’s a space for voices that need to be heard.
Enter the 2026 Shine School Media Awards
Could your school magazine, newspaper or podcast be a 2026 winner? The Shine School Media Awards celebrate student journalism and school media projects that give young people a genuine voice.
Entry is free and open to all UK schools. Winners receive money-can’t-buy experiences including mentoring from industry professionals, newsroom visits and work experience opportunities.
Til next week,
Richard
Chair of Shine