Radio Project

During the latter half of the Autumn term (2006) at AGS; we have been lucky enough to have James Finlayson working with us. James is a Radio Producer with ten years experience in the media, working for the likes of BBC World Service, Radio 1 and Parlophone Records. James has been working with us on a voluntary basis with Year 8 ICT students. The students have gained skills in using our radio recording kits and the Audacity radio editing software.

James has visited us regularly on Wednesday afternoons to work with Y8s within their period 6 ICT lesson. James introduced himself and described the kinds of work he has undertaken during his career. Students were asked about their radio listening habits and displayed a surprising degree of knowledge, one student even mentioned listening to Radio 4. James used a montage of clips from a variety of radio programmes to get students thinking about the medium. Some of the clips were from programmes, James or his colleagues had worked on.

Students were then shown how to use the MP3 recording kits and given some good interviewing techniques. Students recorded a basic interview in small groups, based around their personal music tastes. Students were shown how to use the Audacity software in some depth. James played a recording of a Desert Island Discs programme from Radio 4 featuring the great horror writer Stephen King. This was a model for students to use in their own more detailed interviews. Some students took the kits home and interviewed parents and family members. The fantastic results of the project can be heard by clicking on the files below.