Radio Maria Youth stars nominated as finalists in National Youth Audio Awards
St Mary’s School is delighted to share that Radio Maria Youth, with whom our chaplain, Mrs Ward, volunteers, and student Maryam G. is a presenter, has been nominated as a finalist in the National Youth Audio Awards in the category of Most Innovative Team, sponsored by Broadcast Bionics.
The awards, which celebrate 8-18-year-olds in radio and aim to widen the talent pool coming into the British industry, have recognised their fresh approach to radio. The team at Radio Maria Youth has worked hard to engage young listeners across a variety of platforms, from digital radio to TikTok and YouTube game.
For Maryam, working on the radio station has been a rewarding experience:
‘I first started with Radio Maria in 2020. I was doing my Silver DofE award and was looking for opportunities to volunteer. I’d signed up to work at a charity shop, but when that didn’t happen, I started to look again. I called a friend who worked at the church to ask for volunteering work, and she said ‘You know there’s this radio station’ and it went from there. I went for it and put on a weekly show with a couple of friends in Year 13. Our first one was on 27 November 2020.’
‘Going live on the radio for the first time was terrifying. I’m used to playing concerts live, but this was new. The comfort of having an instrument in front of me was stripped away, and I only had my voice to rely on. It was scary, but the adrenaline made it fun. Now, one and a half years later, I feel much more comfortable on air. If you’d have told me in Year 9 that I’d feel that way it would have been unimaginable. But it’s really boosted my confidence.'
‘I’m so pleased our team has been nominated for the innovation award. We’ve engaging our listeners on Instagram with polls and listener feedback. Recently we’ve had a show based on Star Wars, for example. We’ve been doing things like including movie quotes and songs throughout our show, and listeners can guess the film. We’ve just been really thinking about how to connect with young people and try to bring fun to the show. I’m so excited for the result.’
Mrs Ward said:
‘I'm very proud of how diverse and creative our youth have been during lockdown and the very hard work and dedication they have shown. I would especially like to congratulate our own Maryam from Year 13 who is a shining example of our innovative team, from composing and recording jingles to falling flat in the mud of South Cambs on a sponsored Stations of the Cross walk with the team.’
The school is also delighted that further students have shown interest in joining the crew over the next few weeks, and we are grateful to all the parents who support their children in this in challenging times. The team is currently on the lookout for new presenters, and Radio Maria England, based in Cherry Hinton, is also seeking tech volunteers. If any students are interested, please contact Maryam or Mrs Ward.
The award ceremony will be streamed on YouTube from the BBC Radio Theatre in London from 4pm on Wednesday March 23rd hosted by many of the big names in radio and having a live performance from Lola Young.