OSCAR Radio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| OSCAR Radio | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Part of Oundle School |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Oundle School, UK |
| Industry | British Radio |
| Website | [1] |
OSCAR Radio is a school radio station established in Oundle School, Oundle, Northamptonshire, England. It is one of the longest running school radio stations in the UK [1], and is broadcast on both the FM frequency range as well as via the internet during each of its broadcasts. It makes use of the UK Restricted Service License[2] (RSL) to broadcast to the local community for up to 6 weeks a year, and is notable as being the only station that is run entirely by the students who are under the age of 18[3]
OSCAR Radio has been given 19 FM RSL licenses to broadcast (2 every year) and the material broadcast is original with all the shows being generated from within Oundle School and supporters. The transmission area is at the maximum allowed by OFCOM for the license and covers 30 sq miles from the centre of Oundle in Northamptonshire . Since it started broadcasting in 1998, over 1100 young people from within the school and local area have been involved.
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[edit] History
OSCAR was founded in September 1997, when a group of teachers and pupils presented the case for a school radio station to the School senior management team, following a consultant assessment of the school's suitability for hosting such an ambitious project. After the the presentation it was agreed that monies raised by the Oundle School Foundation could be used to set up the project. In January 1998, £70,000 was transferred to the school, and a contract with a radio installation company was given to install a radio control room, a newsroom, and a recording studio ready for a launch in November 1998.
The name OSCAR Radio was chosen by Fleur Swaney, the first female Head of School; the name was an acronym for "Oundle School Community and Action Radio", although today OSCAR is the name in full.
OSCAR Radio was granted its first RSL License to broadcast for 28 days on November 14th 1998. Samantha Griffiths was the first Managing Director and Lucy Newman (OO) was the first station controller. Since then the station has broadcast for a total of eighteen RSLs with the next one due in April/May 2008.
In 2003, OSCAR Radio moved to its own purpose-built studios, designed by then Managing Director, 18-year-old Sandy Rowell. Located on North Street in Oundle, the location hosts a news studio, DJ booth, an archive and prep rooms. Sir Howard Stringer, old boy at the school and chief executive officer of the Sony Corporation of America, opened the studio on November 14, that year.[4]
[edit] OSCAR Radio today
About 200 pupils take part in OSCAR Radio in various roles at any single broadcast period: technician, presenter, newsreader, manager, director, sales and marketing, and others.
During OSCAR's broadcast period the station broadcasts live between 7.30-8.30am, and 5pm-10.30pm every day. At other times it broadcasts music and repeats of shows. Pupils at the school are responsible for both the day-to-day running of the station and the quality of the radio broadcasts. This gives them the opportunity to take part in a 'real world' project while at school, under teachers' supervision.
OSCAR's last broadcast ended in November 2007, and the next broadcast will start on the 22nd April 2008.
[edit] Pupil Managing Directors
| 1998 | Samantha Griffiths | ||
| 1999 | Holly Davies | Robin Banerjee | James Griffiths |
| 2000 | Alex Jackson | Paul Monk | Stuart Whiting |
| 2001 | Seema Yallamanchilli | Jack Ream | |
| 2002 | Natalie Grogan | Alex Morrell | |
| 2003 | Sandy Rowell | ||
| 2004 | Hannah Glover | Alex Davies | |
| 2005 | Patricia Walsh | Lewis Bretts | |
| 2006 | Sophie Tamlyn | Nicholas Denny | |
| 2007 | Harry Proctor | Adrian Kwok | Anna Budgett |
| 2008 | Phyllis Hamilton-Jones | Alastair Loasby |
[edit] Adult Station Controllers
| 1998 | Lucy Newman (OO) | |
| 1999 | Lucy Newman (OO) | Samantha Griffiths (OO) |
| 2000 | Samantha Griffiths (OO) | Annie Griffiths |
| 2001 | Annie Griffiths | |
| 2002 | Annie Griffiths | |
| 2003 | Pupils took control |
