THREE ambitious students at University Technical College Reading (UTC) have created a student-run radio station within just one week.

Benji, Reilly and Oliver decided to setup the station, as they wanted to engage students from all year groups to build unity within the school, as well as develop key leadership and communication skills to add to their CVs.

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Benji said: "We wanted to set-up the student radio station at the UTC to bring students together and give them a platform to express themselves.

"Once we had agreed we were going to do it, we set it up within a week.

"Reilly developed our website in around two hours, we secured a room at the UTC to run it from, we ran a test broadcast and then went live the next day!

"I volunteered at a radio station previously so already have some experience, as well as running podcasts when I was younger.

"Reilly has a background in website development and Oliver has many skills favourable to this field and was a great fit as producer."

The station, UTCR Live, is currently available online via desktop or mobile.

However, the students are in an early development phase of creating an app as they already have Apple and Android developer licenses via their student company.

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UTC Reading Principal, Jonathan Nicholls, said: "With enterprise being one of the core values of the Activate Learning Education Trust (ALET) and of the UTC, I was so pleased when the student presented me with their idea of the radio station.

"Not only does it provide them with the opportunity to develop a range of skills that they already have but it also provides a platform for the students and staff to discuss topical content over the course of the year.

"The great thing is these students are in Year 12 and will continue into Year 13 which means they have plenty of time to really build this platform and leave behind a legacy for others to pick up and take further."

Benji added: "I would like to have a career with the BBC so am hoping gaining this experience will stand me in good stead.

"I joined UTC Reading for its computing offering and enjoy being able to study this as well as being creative with running the radio station."

Reilly is looking to go into web design, whilst Oliver is hoping to be a broadcast engineer for a radio station.