Wick High School’s radio club transmits to the world
The Wick High School (WHS) Radio Club has been running for over a year and already built a global network of contacts in that time.
The club, callsign GM0WHS, offers WHS pupils the opportunity to sit their amateur radio qualifications and practical (on-air) activities. The course revision happens as an evening class over Google Classroom and practical activities usually happen on a Tuesday lunchtime and after school.
Computing science teacher, Chris Aitken says: “I am so pleased to see such a response to the radio club from the Wick High School pupils.
“I think by having our radio activities visible in the school and with others seeing the momentum we have building in getting our students through their foundation licence, we are showing there is a real appetite for amateur radio in school.
“It's an added bonus for us that we can get our pupils through an industry-recognised qualification and a callsign that stays with them for their lifetime, opening up opportunities in the hobby and a pathway to a full licence in later life.”
The school says the club has been very lucky to attract funding so it could buy a good quality transceiver and temporary mast, allowing it to get on the air quickly. Having a high-quality transceiver also means that the pupils are able to hear and talk to stations from all over the world.
Mr Aitken adds: “We are now in our second year of taking part in the worldwide Youth on the Air (YOTA) month. Over the course of the month, the school club has used the special callsign GB24YOTA to make as many contacts as we can.
“On December 2, we had many of our young operators have a go on the air. For many, this was their first time on the radio and it has inspired them to take up the offer of being in the next cohort of foundation students after Christmas. It was a very busy day with 93 contacts made from all across Europe and even one in the USA.”
On December 8, some of the qualified operators took part in a second YOTA day thanks to the Caithness Amateur Radio Society who hosted pupils at their clubhouse. Having access to the clubhouse meant that the students were able to work with multiple radios and at one point they had three operating, two on HF (high frequency) and one using digital voice (D-Star). Over the day, they made 153 contacts.
“Personally, it is such a pleasure to see my students taking so much from the club and sharing their enthusiasm for a hobby that is so diverse, from voice contacts to digital modes using computers and satellite work – it really can be something for everybody,” says Mr Aitken.
Allowing the children to communicate on air, he believes, helps build confidence, and their ability to interact with others as well as reinforcing cross-curricular knowledge from the science curriculum “when we cover aspects like antenna design, propagation theory and electronics”.
“We have seven qualified operators in the club now and another eight wishing to take part in the foundation course after Christmas.
“In the next few years, I will be working on expanding the club with a mobile classroom that we can use to bring amateur radio to the wider community.”
If your school or club would like a visit, then please get in touch with Mr Aitken at Wick High School.