Media students share BBC Radio Oxford project

This term, our Media students visited BBC Radio Oxford to record their college 'takeover' segments.

Abingdon & Witney College has worked with BBC Radio Oxford for several years, providing students on the Media T Level with an opportunity to gain professional experience of producing radio content and a valuable insight into the industry.

Each year, our students get the opportunity to each record a 3–5-minute soundbite on topics they are passionate about, with a selected few later shared through BBC Radio Oxford’s shows.

This year, we caught up with students Caitlin and Jake to hear about how their project went and what were their favourite bits:

“It has felt like a very quick week! On Tuesday we went to the studios for a tour and to learn about what they do, on Wednesday we were planning our projects, Thursday we were recording, and Friday we were doing our final edits.” – Jake

“We’ve just finished our documentary projects, so it has been an adjustment moving between video and radio. With radio, you only have your voice to tell your story, so we’ve all had to think about how we can record sounds to convey the imagery we want to create, such as the noise of someone skateboarding or the sound of a car.” – Caitlin

During the interview, Jake and Caitlin highlighted the importance to them of making the most of the opportunity, not only to develop their skills but also to represent their age group:

“We’ve all thought carefully about what we wanted to share; none of us wanted to do something for the sake of it, as you can hear it in someone’s voice if they’re talking about something they’re not passionate about. It’s a great chance for us to create content that people our age want to hear, but also for us to share with an older audience our perspective.” – Jake

Abingdon & Witney College is excited to share that several of our students soundbites have been used to inspire features on the radio. Abingdon student, Musa’s package was used on Katie Tyler's show during coverage of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia; and Witney student, Luke’s package on learning to drive was inspired a segment on Sophie Law’s show.

Congratulations to all our Media T Level students for the brilliant packages you have created, and thank you to BBC Radio Oxford for your continued support of our Media student’s learning.

If you would like to find out more about the Media T Level and opportunities available to you, please click the link below.