Carpentry students hone their skills to build radio studios
A new community radio station is broadcasting from purpose-built studios – thanks to the efforts of carpentry students from Cambridge Regional College.
The students have been putting their skills to good use to help launch radio station Cambridge 105, transforming an industrial unit in Gwydir Street into modern studio premises.
Under the supervision of lecturer Gary Moore, the three students – Joe Clements, 18, from Bar Hill, Chris MacFadyen, 18, from Royston, and Dan Wright, 24, from Hardwick – worked on the site in December and were back this week to finish the job.
Peter Monaghan, a carpentry assessor at the college and one of the directors of Cambridge 105, who has also been supervising the work, said the students’ help had been invaluable to the radio station.
He said: “We started with just a basic industrial unit with nothing in it, and the first thing the students did was to build two rooms to use as studios so that we could start broadcasting from there in December.
“Cambridge 105 is a new community radio station for the city and everything is run by volunteers so we are very grateful for the help from the students – they are doing a great job.
“We’re also very grateful to Travis Perkins in Devonshire Road for donating all the materials to make the build possible.”
He said the students, all in their second year of a full-time Level 2 Diploma in Carpentry, have also benefited from some good hands-on work experience.
The station has been broadcasting since last summer. It was initially based in the home of one of the volunteers, but moved to Gwydir Street in December.
The station will mark the completion of the building work with an official launch and drop-in weekend for anyone in the community interested in radio broadcasting later in the month. For more information, visit cambridge105.co.uk.
This weekend, a free workshop will be held at the studios for members of the public to learn about audio production. It will run from 10am-3pm both days, and is being organised by Cambridge 105 and the Cambridge Time Traveller Group.
Cambridge News, 14th January 2011 (also includes a video interview with Cambridge105’s Pete Monaghan)