Student radio station shortlisted for award

WARRINGTON-based The Cat Radio – the student radio station of the University of Chester – has been shortlisted in the “best training initiative” category of the “I Love Student Radio” awards
The awards, which are part of the annual National Student Radio Conference, celebrate the commitment and contributions of individuals to student radio, as well as the campus radio stations themselves.
The nomination for the award is thanks to several initiatives introduced at The Cat Radio, which is based at the university’s Warrington Campus, which aim to prepare students with radio presenting and production skills.
In order to be considered for the award, third year radio production students were asked to specify in their submission why the station offered members an outstanding training scheme or programme.
The nomination proposal included details of some of the initiatives, introduced over the past year, which have helped train newcomers to the station, including the “Industry Takeover” project.
This scheme saw a wealth of talent from commercial radio stations such as Darryl Morris, Stu Tolan and Sam Van Geffen from Rock FM, Alex James from Radio City, Fiona Sadler from Key 103, Paul Fairclough from Signal FM and Tony and Joleen from South East Radio, in Ireland, visiting the Warrington Campus to record a show for The Cat Radio.
During the sessions, the presenters shared tips with the students, on and off the microphone, giving those who recorded the shows a master class in radio presenting, and those who tuned in to the show also received some good advice.
As part of a final year project, students produced an easy to use training guide for all Cat Radio presenters, with first year students and students on non-radio related programmes of study being given extra training by a dedicated team, outside of lecture time.
In addition to written material, a number of films have been produced to support training.
A talk from John Pickford, editor in chief at Bauer Radio, about legal issues relating to radio presentation, was filmed so that those who couldn’t attend the session could also benefit from the advice. A copy of the film has dbeen stored in the university’s library and is now a compulsory requirement of training, which all students must watch prior to going “on air”.
Third year commercial music production and radio production student, Jordan Harrop, from Fearnhead, produced a documentary called Voice of the Future, which provides students, who are interested in pursuing a career in radio, with an insight into how to get that dream job. The documentary features interviews with many of The Cat Radio industry guests who have visited the Campus in the last 12 months, including Steve Hothersall, from Radio City in Liverpool and Daniel Bates, and Mike Cass, from Bauer Network.
Jordan, said: “The Cat Radio prides itself on giving all students the chance to be on the radio. Receiving this nomination proves that the station is willing to go the extra mile to make sure that students get the best possible radio experience in their time here at university. Being a part of it also means I have learnt some new things too!”
Joshua Boardman, 22, who co-produced the training guide with Chris Salmon, 22, said: “It’s great that The Cat Radio has been shortlisted for this category. A lot of hard work has gone in by everyone involved and it would be amazing if it all paid off.”
Michelle Ponting, radio production programme leader at the university, said: “I was delighted to see that The Cat Radio has been nominated for this award. It’s fantastic for the station, students and the university. The students have worked hard on the training manual and producing the ‘Industry Takeover’ shows. I am also hugely grateful for the support we have had from the industry.”