How your students can win industry work experience as part of a Shine Award

Hello everyone,

An exciting update this week to tell you about the industry work experience that Ruby, one of our 2024 Shine Award winners, had this summer.

The Shine School Media Awards has partnerships with some of the UK’s biggest media organisations who offer some of our winning students on-site work experience. It’s one more way in which we offer tomorrow’s talent a leg up in an ever-more competitive world.

Prize winner Ruby (pictured above) told us all about her experience at PrintWeek magazine, part of the Mark Allen Group;

“I really enjoyed seeing how the team at Printweek operated, especially since all the staff were very friendly and happy to share their knowledge about the industry. Equally, it was very interesting to write articles for both Printweek and HR Magazine because- although the same fundamental skills were required for both- I was able to see how styles differed between the two publications.

Moreover, at school they have a magazine in place of a newspaper and I was the editor rather than a writer. So, I found it incredibly useful to see the processes in place for more formal news articles and I really enjoyed being the one writing and not reading for once. It was also fantastic to receive feedback on my work and make the relevant revisions to reach the end product; overall I learned a great deal about an industry that was hitherto quite unfamiliar to me.

On a less serious note, I also cannot help but mention how lovely the office itself was. It was a converted church which, yes made it easy to find on the day, but also made for a very lovely environment. It looked wonderful on the outside and I really loved how it had been modernised on the inside into a contemporary office space!

That being said, after my day at Printweek I have a much greater knowledge and appreciation for the skill it takes to produce high-quality content. The insights I gained into the workflows, the attention to detail, and the collaborative spirit of the team were all invaluable. I am incredibly grateful for the experience and the lessons learned, as they have significantly shaped my approach to writing and my understanding of the media industry.”

– Ruby, Durham School, 2024 Shine School Media Award winner

Thank you PrintWeek for supporting us and offering this amazing prize.

About Shine

Shine was founded and is run by a charitable foundation in the City of London and is always free to enter. Publications need not be printed, an e-magazine will do just fine – we even have a dedicated digital edition award.

Even if your school media project is a glimmer of an idea today, remember that entering is free and easy. Just register with us today and we can provide guidance and encouragement from now til our entry deadline next May.

Register for next year’s awards here

We’re on your side to help your project from planning to completion, so if you have questions about your entry for the Shine School Media Awards 2025, just drop us a line at shine@stationers.org

A self-initiated media project will help your students shine – and rise.

Til next time,

Richard
Chair of Shine