Radio Maria Youth stars win ‘Innovative Team’ award at national ceremony

St Mary’s is delighted to announce that the Christian national radio station, Radio Maria Youth, has won a national award for the ‘Most Innovative Team’ at the Youth Audio Awards – with the support of the school’s chaplain, Mrs Ward, who volunteers for the station and student, Maryam G, who is a presenter.

The awards, which were streamed live on YouTube from the BBC Radio Theatre in London on 23 March, celebrate young people in radio aged 8-18 years and aim to widen the talent pool coming into the British radio industry. 

Potential winners of the ‘Most Innovative Team’ category, sponsored by Broadcast Bionics, needed to demonstrate how they have made innovative digital and technical achievements in audio this year. The winning team also needed to show that they understand the value of team work to produce regular compelling content that engages other young listeners. Entries consisted of a 250-word statement explaining the technical achievements of the team, along with supporting audio and a 150-word statement outlining why the team loves being involved in radio.

Clearly impressing the judges, the team at Radio Maria Youth were crowned the overall winners of the category and recognised for their innovation in audio. St Mary’s student, Maryam G, has been working with Radio Maria since November 2020 after looking for volunteering opportunities whilst undertaking her Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award. Since then, she has been hosting a weekly show on the station alongside fellow Year 13 students. The team have worked hard to engage young listeners across a variety of platforms, from digital radio to TikTok and YouTube. Recently, the team did a show based on Star Wars and have also been including movie quotes and songs throughout each show to encourage listeners to interact and guess the film. 

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.