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The Student Radio Association (SRA) is a representative body which supports and acts on behalf of the UK student radio community, comprising radio stations that are associated with or linked to a place of education. It is a not-for-profit organisation, which exists to encourage and facilitate communication between student stations. It was dissolved by
Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are ...
in May 2018, but was reincorporated on 30 August 2019 as the Student Radio Association Ltd Ltd.


History

The SRA was formed following the liquidation of the National Association of Student Broadcasting (NASB), which was formed as a limited company on 5 August 1988. NASB, a
Private company limited by guarantee In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal p ...
, was dissolved in January 2002, although had collapsed as a business in 1991. That year saw the creation of the SRA as a community. In November 2007, the SRA was incorporated as a Private Company Limited by Guarantee. There are 65 member stations of the SRA, which includes student radio stations across the UK. Membership to the SRA is on a yearly basis. The SRA receives support from a number of industry partners, some which have been associated with the organisation for many years. The Radio Academy provides free membership for SRA members. Students involved with the SRA automatically become part of the Association of Student Radio Alumni (ASRA) following their graduation, which is a network of people formerly involved in student radio. Other associated organisations include
Skillset A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of w ...
, which offers employment opportunities in the radio industry, and RadioCentre, which provides speakers at SRA events.


The SRA Officers

The SRA is run by officers that have various roles within the organisation. The SRA is governed by an elected executive team, with elections held annually and voted by the station managers of member stations. The latest elections took place at the 2021 SRA Conference, with the following individuals elected to office from July 2021: *Chair – Danny Humby *Operations Officer – Delphine Corr *Network Officer – Danny Coucill *Marketing and Communications Officer – Hannah Willoughby *Membership Officer – Katie Bevan *Events Officer - Seb Cheer Administrative roles within the SRA are chosen by the departing executive team. The SRA also appoints regional officers that provide support for stations in a region of the UK. Candidates for regional officers are elected to the role following a vote by the station managers in their region.


The Student Radio Awards (SRAs)

The Student Radio Awards (SRAs) is an awards scheme celebrating talent within the UK student radio industry, held annually since 1995 and supported by
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, the ASRA and
Global Radio Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrys ...
. The awards are announced in a ceremony in November, with past presenters including well-known radio personalities, such as
Fearne Cotton Fearne Wood ( Cotton; born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author''.'' She began her career in the late 1990s presenting various children's television shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. In 2007, she presented '' The Xtra Factor'', ...
,
Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2. Mills has also ...
, and
Nick Grimshaw Nicholas Peter Andrew Grimshaw (born 14 August 1984), also known as Grimmy, is an English television and former radio presenter, podcaster and author. He became known for having hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1. He is also known as a t ...
. The first awards took place at the University of London Union. Due to the increased popularity of the event, the SRAs moved to The indigO2 in London in 2008. The awards on offer range from Best Newcomer, Best Interview, and Best Live Event, up to the most prestigious, Best Student Station of the Year. The current Awards Chairperson is Stephanie Hirst. Previous chairs have included Huw Stephens,
Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Acade ...
, and Jo Whiley. In 2008, the Kevin Greening Creativity Award was introduced to reward students that had displayed new and innovative radio. The award is named in honour of Kevin Greening, a former chair of the awards and presenter on Cambridge University Radio. Greening co-hosted
The Radio 1 Breakfast Show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week until February 1968 (seBBC Genome Project, then f ...
with
Zoë Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & K ...
from 1997 to 1998, prior to his death in 2007. As well as student radio award trophy, winners of the best male and female awards are also given the chance to host a show on BBC Radio 1. In 2012, female winner Hattie Pearson, from
Fuse FM Fuse FM is a student radio station covering the campuses of the University of Manchester, England, UK, broadcasting throughout the university term online via the station's website from the University of Manchester Students' Union. Like most stude ...
, covered an early morning breakfast slot on the station on 29 March 2013. Best male winner Ethan O'Leary, from
Spark FM Spark Sunderland (formerly 107 Spark FM and Spark FM) is a community radio station serving 15- to 30-year-olds in the Sunderland area. Spark carries a variety of content catering for both mainstream and niche musical audiences, specialising i ...
, covered the same show on 1 April 2013. Also in 2012, Abbie McCarthy, from RaW 1251AM, was offered free training from the BBC Academy after winning the Best Newcomer trophy. Many past winners of Student Radio Awards have gone on to become big names within the UK radio industry, most notably
Greg James Gregory James Alan Milward (born 17 December 1985) is an English radio and television presenter, comedian and author. He is the host of BBC Radio 1's breakfast show, co-presenter on the cricket podcast ''Tailenders'' alongside Felix White and ...
(Winner Best Male 2005), who now works at Radio 1, and Mark Crossley (Winner Best Male 2008), who now works at
Absolute Radio Absolute Radio is a British Independent National Radio, National radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK, Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and ...
.


SRA Conference

Each year, the SRA holds a conference, usually during the University Easter break. Each year, member stations submit a conference proposal to hold the conference at their university. The SRA committee selects the winning station towards the start of each year. The conference takes place over 3 days and is funded through ticket sales. At the SRA Conference, speakers are invited to speak on a variety of subjects, including the future of Student Radio and radio techniques. Speakers are invited from radio organisations, such as the controller of BBC Radio 1 Ben Cooper. From 2010, the 'I Love Student Radio' awards have been held at the conference. These are in addition to the SRAs and are dedicated to rewarding the people behind the scenes of student radio. Awards include the best region, which was won in 2013 by the North West region. As well as the awards, the SRA annual general meeting is held at the conference, including the election of the New SRA Executive team. The locations of the most recent conferences are listed below: *The 2009 Student Radio Conference was held at
Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
. *The 2010 Student Radio Conference was held at
Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new universities, new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Desi ...
. *The 2011 Student Radio Conference was held at the
University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was found ...
. *The 2012 Student Radio Conference was held at the
University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, bu ...
. *The 2013 Student Radio Conference was hosted at
De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was ta ...
(Leicester).The Student Radio Association – Conference
from Student Radio Association website, 11 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
*The 2014 Student Radio Conference was hosted at
Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick unive ...
*The 2015 Student Radio Conference was hosted at the
University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...
. *The 2016 Student Radio Conference was hosted at the University of Cardiff. *The 2017 Student Radio Conference was hosted at
De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was ta ...
(Leicester). *The 2018 Student Radio Conference was hosted at the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
. *The 2019 Student Radio Conference will be hosted at
University of Salford , caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford , mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things" , established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...
.


SRA Chart Show

The SRA runs the National Student Radio Chart Show, which broadcasts live across the UK every Sunday from 2pm. The chart broadcasts from a different member station each week, with student presenters from that station in charge of the show. The show is aired on member stations that have signed up to air the show and is repeated on across the student radio network throughout the week. The show lasts for 120 minutes, counting down the top 20 biggest hits playing on student radio across the UK. Stations that host the show are eligible to enter the Best Student Radio Chart Show category at the Student Radio Awards.


References


External links


SRA website

Association of Student Radio Alumni (ASRA)
{{Student Radio in the UK Radio organisations in the United Kingdom *UK Student Radio Association Student organisations in the United Kingdom