Westfield Primary school’s #FantasticFutures initiative has got together with Somer Valley FM for a new broadcast project.

The aim is to get younger children connected to new careers outside of their family and friend circles and it will help them learn about the different industries they can be a part of. Headteacher, Simon Mills, said: “From a recent survey in which 13,000 children took part we know that less than 1% of children know about a job from a person visiting their school.

“This has huge implications for social mobility, as children from poorer backgrounds may not have access to successful role models from the world of work and their aspirations are limited as a result. All children, regardless of their background, should get the chance to meet a wide range of people doing different jobs, in different sectors and at different levels – from apprentices to CEOs.

“Our Fantastic Futures week is giving children an opportunity to meet various people in a wide range of careers. Somer FM are supporting this by enabling our Year 5 pupils to experience certain aspects of the media industry: community related research, report writing and for a lucky few, a live broadcast!”

Somer Valley FM’s Dom Chambers visited the school to speak with over sixty children from Year 5. With his thirty years’ experience in the radio industry, the class learnt about how local radio works, and the opportunities Somer Valley FM give to people to help get them into work and careers of their choosing.

During the assembly, Dom worked with the children to get ideas on what they like to do in the summer holidays. The children’s enthusiastic choices included karate, horse-riding, swimming and wood walks. The children also spoke about their dream careers, such as working as an air hostess, footballer or engineer.

Westfield Primary School are running a competition for eight students to join Dom on a live radio show. The class are pitching ideas to their teachers for what children in Midsomer Norton can do over the summer and the best eight will be joining Dom on the Midday Magazine show, 12 noon on Friday, 12th July.

Dom said: “Working with local schools is at the heart of what Somer Valley FM is about, and I am delighted to be working with Westfield Primary School on this. I was really impressed with the enthusiasm of the children and I look forward to welcoming them on Friday.”

Somer Valley FM can be heard on Smart Speaker, online: somervalleyfm.co.uk or by tuning in to 97.5 FM.

Chelsea Abbott