BB Radio Fun

Photo: Picture: DARREN ROBINSON

RADIO stars, from left, Rahat Hussain, Farhana Humayara, Mohammed Abdul Mumin and Khudega Begum.

School goes live on the airwaves with its own station
FORGET radio stars Chris Evans and Chris Moyles . . . a new crew is taking the airways by storm at Burnley Brow Primary School.

And MC Giggles, DJ Chatterbox, MC Mumin and DJ Respect — aka Khudega Begum, Farhana Humayara, Mohammed Abdul Mumin and Rahat Hussain — are proving firm favourites with the listeners.

The Year 6 pupils run the school’s new radio station BB Rocks which can be heard in every classroom, the corridors, school hall and playground.

Announcements are made twice a day while the quartet record and broadcast their own podcasts with news, interviews, birthdays, jokes, competitions and dramas.

Pupils are selected to read out their work, comments from a suggestions box are aired and teachers have been roped in for storytime sessions. As well as listening, a CCTV link to the studio allows pupils in each class to watch interviews and live broadcasts on interactive whiteboards.

Assistant head teacher Katie Bradley said the station linked in with all areas of the curriculum, particularly speaking, listening and ICT (information communication technology).

The pupils have been trained and she explained: “I just thought for the communication and IT skills, it would be fantastic for our school.

“We like to keep to up to date with modern technology and this was the next step for us.

“It is great. The Year 6s run it by themselves and the other children are coming up with their own ideas about what they want to hear.”

A competition was held to come up with a name and logo for the station, which was won by Year 2 pupils Farhana Rahman and Nadria Ahmed.

Soothing music is played when the station is off air, which can be turned on and off in individual classrooms, and Miss Bradley added: “There have been a lot of studies where music has been proven to accelerate learning.”