Thorney Close FM

The Centre for Creativity and Learning, University of Sunderland

London-based deaf comic Steve Day was a special guest at Thorney Close Primary School, Sunderland in July and young people took the opportunity to interview the self titled ‘only deaf comic in Britain’ as part of their radio project.

The team building radio project proactively allowed the young people to source, create and deliver their own radio material and encouraged them to take ownership of their work.

"The radio project is proving a great success in motivating the children to work cooperatively in groups. It also provides an element of freedom that in turn enables them to independently make their own decisions," said Susan Dixon, curriculum and extended schools manager for Thorney Close Primary School.

The three year radio project is being facilitated by Creative Partnerships Durham Sunderland - bringing in the skills of creative professionals. The young people and teachers are working with poet and stand up performer Kate Fox and creative agent Gayle Sutherland.

The school believes the project is a great way to enhance the young peoples' formal and informal speaking skills and provide them with an opportunity to gain further confidence to talk in front of an audience.

Steve Day’s visit befits Thorney Close - as the school has an in-school hearing impaired unit with young people who experience various degrees of hearing impairedness.

The key creative practitioner in the radio project is North East-based poet and stand up performer Kate Fox. Kate has worked as Poet in Residence on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live show and tours the comedy circuits with her own unique brand of satirical humour.

Kate said: "I hope the young people will become more confident, better speakers and listeners, more creative and inspired to think the world might want to listen to what they have to say!"

Steve Day has been a stand up comic for eleven years - having had a desire to take to the stage since the age of five. He describes the radio opportunity at Thorney Close Primary School as a chance to let people know that "... you can be deaf and worth knowing about! Life is difficult; being on stage is the easiest part of my life. It has been quite hard but anything worthwhile is. I forget sometimes how I struggled a lot at first but two things have happened over the past ten years since I've been a comic: I've got funnier and; the world is a bit more willing to laugh at a deaf bloke."