6th January 2026
Ask the winner: Maxi Jen on taking risks and trusting your instinct
Hello everybody,
This week sees the beginning of ‘Ask the Winner,’ a new original Shine podcast series we hope supports and inspires your students to create great school media.
Each week I will be interviewing previous Shine winners as they tell us what went into the making of their project and how it became successful.
This week, Maxi Jen, the winner of the 2025 Terry Mansfield Award CBE prize for Tomorrow’s Talent shares how his school magazine The Scientific Latimerian went from a folder of Google Docs to an award-winning magazine.
The Scientific Latimerian was only their school’s second ever science magazine. Maxi and his team, particularly their designer Helena, had no template to follow. “None of us really knew what we were doing,” Maxi admits. “It was very exploratory, based on trial and error.”
But that uncertainty didn’t hold them back, as he explains…
“You don’t need to know everything”
“You don’t always need to know exactly how you’re going to finish the project. But if you have an idea in mind and something that you’re passionate about, and you can get other people willing to go on that mission with you, then you’re basically set.”
The team’s mission was ambitious: merge art and science in a way that would genuinely excite their schoolmates.
Throughout the autumn term, the team worked up a wide selection of articles, but the magazine existed only as a collection of Google Docs. However, when Helena sent a first designed version of the magazine, everything clicked.
Maxi recalls looking at the finished pages, describing it as “stunning” and a cohesive collection of articles that sparked excitement and a realisation they were making something really special.
“Trust your instinct and use your judgment”
“There’s a balance between letting people express their ideas and making sure it’s ‘publication standard’. I’m not sure I can give a definitive answer about how much to edit. That’s something for each editor-in-chief to find. My biggest piece of advice is trust your instinct and listen to people, but ultimately use your judgment.”
Managing forty-plus submissions across biology, chemistry and physics wasn’t easy. “You have to put in a lot of effort to make sure that they do work cohesively.” By playing to individual strengths, Maxi and his team ensured that each article reflected the unique voice of its author while maintaining overall coherence.
“Winning was a celebration of what we’ve achieved”
“Shine was such a rewarding moment for us because it’s like all of these months of late nights, you know, calling each other, looking at what works, what problems there are, how to solve them, how to make sure that the publication is as best as it could be. Then having that all culminate in a ceremony and being recognised was just so fulfilling.”
When the team looked at some of the outstanding Shine winners they saw it as a motivation to enter. As Maxi explained, “look at what they did and we thought about it and decided that there wasn’t much to lose. You know, let’s just go for it.”
Inspiring stuff.
I hope it’s a story that resonates and encourages your school to enter in 2026.
Enter the 2026 Shine School Media Awards
Could your school magazine, newspaper or podcast be a 2026 year’s 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