A STUDENT radio station is going for gold for the second year running.

The Cat Radio, which is based at the University of Chester’s Warrington campus, is up for Best Student Radio Chart Show at The Student Radio Association Awards after winning in 2018.

Masters students Dan Baker, Michelle Homan, Nicola Pearson and Madeline Twigg produce and present the programme that broadcasts on all student radio stations across the country.

Other students at the Crab Lane campus are also up for awards at the ceremony – supported by Radio 1 and Global Radio – including Max Rushton who is up for Best Podcast and Thomas Marland for Best Speech.

Max’s programme, Welcome Home Friends, is set in a dystopian future where everyone is watched while Thomas produced the hour-long piece, Contracting to Cheat, about the issue of ‘essay mills’.

Categories are judged by more than 100 industry professionals, who produce a shortlist of six nominees in each category.

The finalists are then whittled down to bronze, silver and gold award winners by some of the biggest names in radio.

The announcements were made during the Student Radio Association training day, which was hosted in the North West Media Tower at the Warrington Campus.

Michelle Ponting, radio production programme leader, said: “I’m thrilled and very proud of my students, as ever. They put an immense amount of effort into each of the projects and the chart show. It’s great to see their work recognised on a national level.”

Max, 21, said: “It’s amazing to see my podcast be nominated for one of the awards.

“From the initial idea, scriptwriting, casting, directing, editing and making the accompanying website, all of the hard work makes me feel proud to be nominated.”

Thomas, 23, said: “I travelled to London and Swansea for a couple of the interviews for Contracting to Cheat. I loved the whole production process. To be nominated for such a prestigious award really means a lot.”

n The awards ceremony is held at The O2 in London next Thursday, November 7.