year 9 careers event

We were delighted this morning to welcome radio broadcaster Darryl Morris, who currently hosts the weekend late show on national speech radio station Times Radio. Darryl delivered an inspirational presentation to our Year 9s, as part of our ongoing careers provision and programme of Careers Spotlight events.

Darryl engaged Year 9 with his personal pathway into a career in radio broadcasting, from his early years in school when, as a chatty youngster in class, he was told that he would never be able to earn a living through talking!  Darryl then shared his high school experiences and diagnosis of ADHD, a condition which, although challenging, he was ultimately able to foster to successfully develop the career that he loves.

Find your passion, play to your strengths and follow your curiosity

Darryl inspired Year 9 with these core points of advice and shared the transformative moment at high school when a radio station was introduced, providing an invaluable opportunity for him to develop his passion for talking and his curiosity and interest in all that was going on around him, and in other people's lives and stories.

Hosting the school radio breakfast show gave Darryl the drive and impetus to work in this field, and after leaving school he was signed to present the BBC World Service series Generation Next, followed by stints at Manchester-based radio station Key 103 and digital station Hits Radio, as well as working as a researcher for BBC Radio Manchester, before taking up his current role at Times Radio.

Darryl ended by fielding questions from our Year 9 students who were keen to find out more about the skills needed for radio broadcasting, the challenges of working in this sector, what makes this career so interesting, and the day-to-day routine and hours of the job. What they took away most of all was the important message that if you can foster and pursue a career in an area about which you are passionate and that plays to your core skill-set, then professional life will ultimately be both personally and professionally enriching.

The session concluded with Year 9 demonstrating their appreciation for Darryl's motivational and heartfelt advice with a round of rapturous applause.

With huge thanks to Darryl for taking the time to visit to inspire our students today, and to CEAIG Co-ordinator Miss Marshall and Head of Careers Mrs Kinder for organising these wonderful opportunities for our students.