Monday 20th October 2025
Tuning into the Future: How Stamford Junior School Pupils Are Leading the Way in Podcasting
Over the past decade, there has been a meteoric rise in the number of podcasts in the UK; indeed, the latest research shows that 7.6 million Brits regularly listen to podcasts.
At Stamford Junior School, I had noticed that the children were more likely to get their news and entertainment from podcasts rather than traditional media. To prepare our Stamfordians for the future, we decided to launch our very own SJS Podcast last year. Led by the Year 6 Prefects, the podcast is released weekly. Like any other podcast, there are regular items such as ‘Joke of the Week’, birthday shoutouts, ‘Song of the Week’ and match reports. We also have special items, which have recently included staff interviews and interviews with accomplished sportsmen and women. Most recently, our Head Girl interviewed British eventing champion Sam Warburton!
Classes tune in every Friday morning for the podcast, and dancing to the ‘Song of the Week’ is a highlight for many of the younger children! The podcast has continued to evolve under the leadership of the pupils with minimal teacher support. We have enjoyed watching the children ‘own’ the podcast, record and edit it each week, working as a team. They even invited in our local Rutland and Stamford Sound DJ, Rob Persani, to interview and get some expert tips on radio and podcasting. Rob was impressed by their confidence and knowledge and sees media careers calling after Stamford.
The next stage on our podcast journey is to build a dedicated podcasting room so that podcasting has a home and a professional environment to match the professionalism of the children.
Written by Head of Stamford Junior School, Mr Matthew O’Reilly.