Radio Five

Last term we reported a considerable amount of success for the School Radio Station. In relation to that success the change this term has been almost unbelievable. It all began on the first Sunday of the term when a sponsored swim to raise money for new studio equipment raised £105. From then onwards purchases of new equipment occurred repeatedly. A new studio in the form of a Portakabin, a cassette tape recorder, a new amplifier and new microphone, a second record deck and finally a pair of headphones were all purchased within two months. With all this new equipment the whole system of broadcasting took on a new form. Record companies were approached and promotional records obtained from them. Special thanks for all their help must go to Des McKeogh of Charisma, Ricky Hopper, head of Promotions at Transatlantic and Craig Thompson of E.M.I. Special Promotions Department, who came to visit us. These promotional records are of the highest quality, and from the Charisma record label we are now regularly receiving their latest single releases.

Due to a major technical fault it was not possible to begin broadcasting at the beginning of term; however, once shows were in operation the enthusiasm to participate and listen seemed to have greatly increased. As previously the programmes were for the most part on the lines of Radio One, the term seeing a total of 202 hours broadcasting. Pete Webster and Dave Snowdon kindly carried out a pop poll survey which revealed amongst other things that Lindisfarne were the most popular group and that Mr. Pemberton of the Music School was the best musician. Throughout the term the standard of broadcasting was high. Particular mention for their work must go to Pete Wilkinson, Brian Macartney, Graham Hunt, Simon Clark, Mike Drucquer, Chris Westropp, Gavin Warnock, John Hudson, Tony Gee, Chris Brown, Mike Naylor, Tim Young and Neil Bowen. One Saturday John Craven provided us with a special show of 78 r.p.m. records which was enjoyed by all who listened. Nick Blitz, an Old Peterite and occasional Radio Monte Carlo broadcaster, came and did several shows for us. Shows of a different nature to the norm must always be encouraged; originality is a valuable quality.

A third school concert was performed in the Hall during the last week of term. This proved most successful, with performances from In Memory Of . . .,Gavin Warnock, Pete Godwin, Robin Scott and friends and Steve Parker. This concert was well received and thanks must go to all the performers for the hard work that they put in. Also during the last week of term there were additional broadcasts and on the last Saturday a demonstration of how Radio Five works, with a three-hour show and a visual demonstration of what happens; an interesting programme was put forward.

Finally, on behalf of Mike Drucquer and myself I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped us during the past year. A radio station such as ours could, and I hope will be, as much part of the school extra-curricular programme as anything else. It takes a lot of skill, hard work and planning to put on a good show and often for little apparent reward. To Mr. Anderson must go a lot of thanks, for he has worked unrelentingly for Radio Five and no doubt will continue to do so next year. To Gavin Warnock, who will be the Director next year, I wish the best of luck, and hope that in his year in charge of Radio Five it takes as vast a leap forward as this rewarding one has done. S.R.