school radio

When I was 14, my headteacher wanted us to have a school radio station because he thought it would look good in the prospectus...I was thrilled! Sadly, he didn't have a clue how to go about this, nor did he have a budget. So it was left to me to beg and borrow two cassette recorders, a turntable and a long stretch of cable. Our kindly drama teacher then bought us a cheap DJ mixer and microphone out of her minimal funds. We were on air!

Seventeen years on and budgets remain tight, but technology has come on in leaps and bounds. Every school in the UK now has the necessary equipment to produce and showcase radio content with the aid of free software and a little knowhow. So why aren't they doing so?

I am currently working with schools to release the potential in their existing ICT infrasructure to produce podcasts and internal broadcasts and recommend cost-effective purchases such as portable recorders and if there's the apetite, basic studio equipment.

Whilst a full professional studio package and broadcast software may be appropriate for some FE colleges, the truth is that this generally ends up gathering dust in the average school.

With my background in broadcasting and experience in the education sector, I'm able to give teachers, technicians and students alike, the skills and knowledge required to make best use of free software and existing hardware to go on to produce high quality audio content, that is relevant to the wider curriculum.

I hold a current clean enhanced CRB certificate and work on a freelance basis across the UK.