Pupils, aged nine, to host radio shows

Children are llearning all aspects of radio production

Pupils as young as nine are to broadcast live on radio as part of a university project.

Siren FM, the campus station at Lincoln University, has asked children from five nearby school to produce and present three 30-minute shows.

The experiment is part of a degree project involving around 20 media production students.

One of them, Catherine Walker, said: "We've been going in every week and teaching the kids how to create simple radio content.

'Confidence'

"A group of nine and 10 year olds will be putting on three live shows.

"They've been trying lots of new things, like interviewing and putting minidisc packages together.

"They are really enjoying it. You can see their confidence growing all the time."

The children will be on-air from 10am to 10.30am on May 3, 10 and 17.

Ms Walker added: "They've come up with ideas of their own and been guided by us.

"Some of the things they will feature include talks on their favourite music and an interview with their head teacher."

The project, part-funded by Lincolnshire County Council, was devised to demonstrate the power of radio - often forgotten in a world dominated by television - to children.

The university students' grades for the project will not depend on the pupils' on-air performances.

Ms Walker said: "The project has been good for everyone involved.

"They've come to realise the power of words and what they can achieve if they go on with their education, perhaps to university. It's also very rewarding for us."