Glasgow Caledonian University use a Synergy radio station supplied by Clyde Broadcast. It's used extensively on our Media and Journalism courses which have become so successful since their introduction, that we are installing a second Synergy Radio Studio to accommodate the increase in pupil numbers!

We chose this system over others for several reasons – The software and hardware are industry standards meaning our students get trained on the systems they will use either on placement or when they start working in the industry.

It gives our pupils the best possible start in their media career - This is what employers are looking for. The system was supplied and installed by Clyde Broadcast and has worked faultlessly since 2009.

Buying a turnkey system means it's up and running in just a few days and operation of the system can be taught and learned very quickly. Our Synergy radio station has enabled students and staff to concentrate on the programme content without having to worry about technical operation.

Anyone looking to deliver media or radio qualifications should consider Clyde Broadcast's radio studios.

My name is Colin Park. I work in Higher Education and I present a Sunday morning radio show for Hermitage FM based in North West Leicestershire (www.hermitagefm.com).

I have taught and worked with Clyde Broadcast’s Synergy radio play out system for the past six years and find it excellent. It is particularly suitable for education because it is intuitive to use yet sophisticated.

In my opinion it is a superior core facility, which is suitable for any radio station. Furthermore, I have found that students who have mastered Synergy enter the industry with a firm grounding enabling them to easily work with any other systems they may encounter.

5 Stars for Synergy!

The radio station has proved to be a hit with students across all key stages and staff alike. We are broadcasting every day with a mix of live shows, pre-recorded shows and autopilot shows.

Not only has it allowed students and various teaching departments to get involved, whether it is a news show, music show, chat show or subject-based show, it is very user-friendly. A recent project has included having a live text-in around the topic of migration, where stories were read out live on air from a year 7 class and music from around the world was played. Similarly, A Level students have managed to record top-quality radio adverts and talk shows as part of their coursework using the professional equipment.

I would recommend the studio to other schools and Clydebroadcast have dealt with issues/hiccups we have had reasonably quickly, which is ideal in a school setting.

Having spent a number of months investigating broadcast solutions from a number of suppliers, we decided to pursue the S-Radio studio by Clyde Broadcast. We were taken by the magnitude of products on offer for Educational establishments that are heavily linked to the commercial radio industry. Clyde Broadcast demonstrated the knowledge of what is required for a school radio station to be successful and integrated within the curriculum. This company is backed up by a skilled team of engineers and education professionals, thus meaning top of the range products and equipment that really fits into the educational sector.

We have a purpose built Radio Studio which, although a little small, we were determined to make a success of. Our school strap line is Believe, Aspire, Achieve and we were determined that the students would aspire to be part of this project. The S-Radio package was too big for our studio, this though was not a problem for Clyde Broadcast. They measured the room and designed bespoke custom made furniture which I have to say has really made the room even more special.

I feel that there are many positives but one main one is how simple the system is to use. We had one days training and were instantly at home with the system. It is something that has been designed so well that it can be picked up quickly and students can use it within a small amount of time. It turns out that our trainer is actually a teacher from another school who used to broadcast on the BBC. He also uses a Synergy system to teach media. He was very friendly, helpful and was happy to share his wealth of knowledge and industry tips!

We went into the project thinking that these systems would cost the earth and may not be financially viable – I couldn’t have been more wrong. Clyde may work on several commercial projects each year but that doesn’t mean that Education is ignored, in fact it is quite the opposite. Everything is thought about very carefully and they are very much aware of the budget constraints on schools – especially so during these hard financial times.

I would recommend anyone who is serious about running a radio project to speak to Clyde. They have a unique and unrivalled knowledge within commercial radio and translating this into systems for Education. They have been nothing but supportive, professional and inspirational throughout our project. We have had our system for just over a year now and the support is continuous and free!

We are very happy with our system and cannot commend Clyde Broadcast enough for all their help and support. In addition we have purchased a Studio Indicator Display system and extra PCs for students to do research and scheduling for their shows. We have also designed a logo for our studio and have this printed on our acoustic tiling! From September we also have a new member of staff to support the Radio Station as it continues to grow.

Our school in Bracknell introduced a Synergy Radio Station in 2007. Since this time we have made fantastic progress with its expansion, year on year.

I am an FL teacher so I use the radio station to create learning resources for my students, interview exchange students and have even created whole radio shows in other languages. After a lesson or two, the pupils are operating the equipment by themselves.

Our department has seen a marked improvement in the students vocabulary, confidence with speaking and general interest and engagement in the subject.

What I still find so amazing about our Synergy Radio system is that from day one, our students were broadcasting; before school, at break times and also at lunch time. Different days of the week have different themes and music styles so the radio shows always sound interesting! 5 Years have past and the use of the radio station is still continuing to grow.

In recent months we have signed up to broadcast for the next two years on MW 1556 partnering with Eagle Extra. In addition to the radio shows that are broadcast within the school, Eagle enable us to broadcast to an even larger audience on Wednesday evenings at 7PM.

For the past couple of years we have been hosting 'Live Friday' where pupils sing and play musical instruments LIVE, like a live lounge, it really is well supported by the whole school and is a great way to expand on the brilliant work our music department do.

I can't thank the guys at Clyde Broadcast enough for their continued support and enthusiasm over the years. Our software has been upgraded a couple of times, free of charge! and their sales rep Darren Dixie often pops in or phones me to check on our progress.

If your interested in starting a radio project, you can't go wrong with a Clyde Broadcast system.

Last year we wanted to start a school radio which would be used as entertainment at lunchtime and as part of the curriculum. We made a few enquires with different companies but SYNERGY were the best. They were very friendly and knew what they were talking about. Darren Dixie came to our school and set up the portable studio which absolutely blew us away. He showed us all of the features which were very easy to use and we discussed how SYNERGY could meet our requirements within our budget. He went away and came back with a very competitive quote. We were delighted to accept the quote and two very knowledgeable and friendly engineers came to fit the system in the holidays.

Since then the school radio has become part of lunchtime at Sharples School. The pupils who DJ and listen absolutely love it and it has brought a calmer atmosphere around the school. Some days when we are unable to broadcast due to exams being sat, we constantly get asked 'why is the radio not on today' this shows that when it’s not on they really miss it. We also use it for recording Pod casts as a form of revision during class time and the pupils really enjoy using the equipment.

The school radio helped to recruit pupils who are not necessarily academic and engaged them back into education. For example we have one pupil who disliked English and would disrupt the learning of others. Ever since he became a DJ he now uses the radio as a learning aid and has massively improved. He also attends a radio course run by a local radio station 2 days a week and wants to be a radio DJ when he is older. The radio has given him an opportunity which he would never have had before.

We have had some minor technical issues throughout the year but SYNERGY has been fantastic in helping us both on the phone and in person. We have also looked at additions to the equipment we currently have and SYNERGY were great in suggesting products and services.

If you want to enhance school life and offer an exiting way of learning a school radio system from SYNERGY is the perfect way to do it. I would recommend SYNERGY to any school that is interested in radio broadcasting.

A brilliant bit of kit. The pupils took to it from day one. Excellent training is offered by Synergy - they've also been happy to answer all our questions long after installation. We can't fault their service!

Teaching radio has never been easier! Tresham College realised the potential that radio brings to the curriculum, the students and the wider community and invested in the Synergy radio studio. The difference it has made to the media department and in fact the whole college is fantastic.

Since we've purchased Synergy not only have we seen it used in more areas of the curriculum, but also there's been a marked improvements in the calibre of the students work!

I've been teaching radio broadcasting for over a decade in colleges and universities across the midlands and have continuously been impressed by the enthusiasm of the learners for this medium. I think every school and college should have a radio studio as it opens up so much potential to engage the learners in a really exciting and innovative way.

What we love about Synergy is really two simple things - it's ease of use, (students can learn basic functions of playing content and recording links within one lesson), and secondly, almost paradoxically - although it is incredibly user friendly and easy to learn, it has the ability to operate at community radio level, in that you can schedule programmes, assign channels, create logs, etc.

If you're looking to develop radio within your school, look no further.