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Primary School Radio Training - Click this to go straight to this topic
Drive Time Holocaust Memorial Day broadcast - Special broadcast from 27th January this year. Listen now or right click this link and choose to save to your computer.
Step by Step Guide to Getting the Podcast
There are two ways you can listen to the Podcast:
1. Listen Now
Listen now lets you listen to the Podcast via your media player.
In order to do this you need to be online. When you click the
Listen Now link the media player should appear in a small new
window, and the audio should start playing automatically. For
this to happen you will need to have a media player installed.
If you are having problems with Listen Now and your media player then try downloading the podcast (see below).
2. Download
Downloading lets you save a copy of the podcast onto your
computer. You can then listen to this whenever you want, or
transfer it onto your portable MP3 player. Please be aware that
some podcasts can be very large and will take a long time to
download - especially if you have a dial-up connection.
How you download the audio depends on the set up and settings of your computer. Usually, if you want to download the audio you need to click on the link using your right hand mouse button. You should then see a list of options including either "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As...". If you select this option (or a similar option containing the word "save") you should be able to save the audio file (MP3) to your computer. Remember to save it to a folder you'll be able to find again later or your desktop.
If you click on the Download link using the left hand button on your mouse, the audio will usually play. How this happens will depend on the set up and settings of your computer. Usually your default media player will open and the audio will start playing automatically.
The Young Writers Showcase
The Young Writers Showcase was a literary feature in Friday’s Drive time show broadcast on Somer Valley 97.5fm during the autumn of 2009. This provided a radio outlet for coursework undertaken by Year 12 A/S English Literature students. Led by their teacher, Mark Kenny, they had to write a short story on the theme of ‘obsession.’ The class read ‘Enduring Love’ by Ian McEwan and then had to compose their own story using as many of the ideas and techniques of the novelists as they felt appropriate. Peter Jones, a member of staff, read the stories and Mark Kenny then interviewed the students for Somer Valley FM. Mark said “It was great for the students to hear their creative output on the local radio. Having your own work read on the radio is so much better than just having it marked by the examiner and the students really engaged in the project.” Somer Valley’s station manager Dom Chambers, who produced the features, said, “This imaginative school project made for really good, entertaining, radio and is a great example of how the medium of radio can be used to compliment education. I look forward to the next crop of student stories from Somervale School.”
We have four sample stories with interviews available as podcasts to listen to:
|
1 |
Somer Vally FM Young Writers Showcase: Story 1 Introduction |
Download  |
Mark Kenny |
Somer Vally FM Young Writers Showcase: Story 1 |
Download |
Pete Jones |
|
2 |
Somer Vally FM Young Writers Showcase: Story 2 Introduction |
Download |
Mark Kenny |
Somer Vally FM Young Writers Showcase: Story 2 |
Download |
Pete Jones |
|
3 |
Somer Vally FM Young Writers Showcase: Story 3 Introduction |
Download |
Mark Kenny |
Somer Vally FM Young Writers Showcase: Story 3 |
Download |
Pete Jones |
|
4 |
Somer Vally FM Young Writers Showcase: Story 4 Introduction |
Download |
Mark Kenny |
Somer Vally FM Young Writers Showcase: Story 4 |
Download |
Pete Jones |
| 1 | Somer Vally FM and Comic Relief (8.5mins) | Download |
Vikki Hutton and Pete Helmore talk to Dom Chambers of Somer Valley FM about the radio station and what it means to the pupils and staff of Somervale School and the listeners in Midsomer Norton and surrounding area. Also contains information about Comic Relief 2009 |
| 2 | Aids to Revision (45 mins) | Download |
A Year11 revision clinic with Rachel Hopwood Head of Science, Sian Davis, Head of English, Steve Cox Head of Maths and Mark Kenny, Deputy Headteacher as the expert panellists answering questions posted by the students |
| 1 | Somer Vally FM and Comic Relief (8.5mins) |
Download
|
Vikki Hutton and Pete Helmore talk to Dom Chambers of Somer Valley FM about the radio station and what it means to the pupils and staff of Somervale School and the listeners in Midsomer Norton and surrounding area. Also contains information about Comic Relief 2009 |
| 2 | Aids to Revision (45 mins) |
Download
|
A Year11 revision clinic with Rachel Hopwood Head of Science, Sian Davis, Head of English, Steve Cox Head of Maths and Mark Kenny, Deputy Headteacher as the expert panellists answering questions posted by the students |
Primary School Radio Production Training
Six local schools recently experienced a 2-day training course in radio production run by Somervale School in conjunction with Somer Valley FM, the area’s community radio station.
The course objective was to teach all the participants every aspect of Radio production and come up with a 30-minute programme which could be transmitted on FM radio. The programmes, made entirely by the children themselves, were aired at the end of April and beginning of May 2009.
The schools involved were:
St. John’s School, Midsomer Norton, Fosseway special needs School, Longvernal Primary School, Paulton Junior School, Midsomer Norton Primary School and Welton Primary School.
Students, ranging from 7 years to 15 years, were given the chance to learn how to research, script, present and record a radio programme, under the guidance of 2 staff from Somer Valley FM. Each session involved children from different age groups working together to create a 30-minute radio programme. Themes for the programmes mirrored key activities within each school and included caring for pets, life-skills, healthy eating, social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL), visiting the elderly and a snapshot of life at a special school.
The 2-day training sessions allowed the pupils to have extensive experience of all aspects of making a radio programme, from planning and scripting to presenting, location recording and managing a studio production team.
Co-ordinating producer, Rupert Kirkham, says the project was a great success, “After only 2 days training, any one of those children could make a programme for the radio. All of them gained valuable experience in the disciplines of teamwork, the creative and technical aspects of radio and a big dollop of self-esteem!.”
The programmes aired over 2 weeks at the end of April and start of May, 2009. Each school’s production team came into the radio station to talk about their experience and watch their programme going out. This activity completed the lifecycle of the programme they had made.
Here are the programmes for you to either listen to now, or download to play later:
| School Name | Listen | Download | Transmission Date |
| St John’s Primary |
Download
|
1200 Tuesday 28th April | |
| Fosseway School |
Download
|
1400 Wednesday 29th April | |
| Longvernal Primary School |
|
1200 Thursday 30 April | |
| Paulton Junior School |
Download
|
1200 Tuesday May 5th | |
| Midsomer Norton Primary School |
Download
|
1200 Wednesday May 6th | |
| Welton Primary School |
Download
|
1200 Thursday, May 7th |
RUPERT KIRKHAM
Supervising Producer
Schools Project
Somer Valley 97.5 FM