Success at the Shine Awards

Huge congratulations to Year 13 student, Lucy, who was awarded Editor of the Year at the prestigious Shine School Media Awards on Monday for the fantastic work that she has done this year on ‘The Durham Eye’, the school magazine. The ceremony took place at the beautiful Stationers’ Hall, near to St Paul’s Cathedral, and the judges were very impressed by the quality of the magazine and by Lucy’s impressive leadership, “This is an excellent magazine which Lucy edits by inspiring younger students. She has increased the readership, content and contributors during her time as editor. Lucy’s editor’s note is strong and sets a tone for the magazine meaning readers are guided through it with her voice leading the way.”

Alongside Lucy’s success, congratulations also go to Alexander N, who finished at Durham School last year, who won the Best Photograph of the Year award for his stunning picture of two paddle boarders on the River Wear at sunrise entitled ‘A View on the River’; the judges described Alexander’s photograph as, “An amazingly well thought out picture that puts the reader right in the image.” Well done also to Adam A who received a Highly Commended award for his article entitled ‘Election’, a bitingly sarcastic response to the American Presidential result; the judges enjoyed Adam’s, “Classic Fleet Street confection that reads really well. Nicely counter intuitive, introducing a satirist in the making. It captures Kamala Harris’ voice and it has personality. A skewering of an election loser.”

The Shine Media Awards are open to schools across the UK, but also included entries from English schools in the Falklands, Morocco and Taiwan, and it is a superb achievement for Lucy to have scooped the top prize. In their comments about why ‘The Durham Eye’ was chosen, the judges stated that they, “loved the interviews with the heads of school and the range of content including the clever grasshopper poem and photography. Impressive!” The prize for winning Editor of the Year is a day’s work experience at both ‘The Daily Mail’ and with ‘Print Week’, an industry specific print related magazine and website, and she is very much looking forward to this fantastic opportunity.

Mr Quentin Hughes

A message for families affected by the closure of Durham High School

We understand that this will be a difficult and uncertain time for many Durham High School pupils, families and staff as they consider the next steps for their education and future.

If your family has been affected by our neighbour school (Durham High School) closure, and you would like to discuss the options available to join our school, our Admissions Team is here to offer guidance, answer your questions and provide support in a confidential and compassionate manner.

Whether you are seeking information about places, transition arrangements, transport, scholarships, bursaries or simply wish to talk through your circumstances, we would be pleased to help.