8 From 8 Podcast

The moment lockdown 3 was announced, Oli in Year 8 realised he wouldn’t be returning to physical school anytime soon. Albeit in daily Team lessons, Oli knew this wasn’t the right environment to chat to friends. 

A podcast about Year 8’s life in lockdown for Year 8

Influenced by his mother’s love for podcasts, Oli invited good friend and fellow Year 8 George, to produce and co-host their own podcast – ‘8 From 8’ – about life in lockdown for Year 8. 

George composed and performed the theme tune on his saxophone.  Between them, they came up with the name, format and logo for the podcast.

‘8 From 8’ is a show featuring Oli and George asking Year 8 pupils, 8 questions every week.

Here, Oli shares his love for podcasts and who he’d most like to interview, while George’s Mother Mrs Fawcett, describes subject matters, format and inspiration.

Interview with ‘8 From 8’ co-host Oli

Q: Where did the inspiration for the podcast idea come from?

“The idea came about when I was walking around the farm. Mummy LOVES a podcast and is often talking about interesting things she has heard on them. I have started to listen to some as well and when the news of lockdown 3 was announced, I knew that a lot of our time would be spent on Zoom and Teams, so wanted to find something that we could do as a group using a different form of communication.”

Q: Have you participated in a podcast before? If so, which one/s?

“I have not participated in any podcasts before, but having listened to quite a few, I realised that they have a clear plan and format, and that is where the name ‘8 From 8’ came from – 8 topics of conversation from Year 8 pupils.”

Q: Do you listen to podcasts? If so which one/s?

“I listen to a lot of my Mum’s podcasts, including Desert Island Discs. The ones I know the people they are interviewing are the Steve Backshall ones.”

Q: What do you hope listeners get out of the podcast?

“The podcast is hopefully a reflection of the past week, to raise a few laughs, to help the other students get to know Year 8 better – as we interview two different members each week. It is also good for us, as it makes us look deeper at the news, think about what is happening around us, and also gives us ideas of things to watch and do during our time at home.”

Q: If you could interview anyone, who would it be and why?

“At the moment I would love to interview Rob Lewis the England Cricket supporter who waited in Sri Lanka for 10 months for the test match. I would love to ask what he got up to during his time there and how special it felt when Root called him and raised his bat to him. We are hoping to touch on this in next weeks podcast.  Ben Fogle would also be interesting or Bear Grylls.”

Report from ‘8 From 8’ co-host George’s Mum Mrs Fawcett”

“Oli Butler came up with the idea and asked George to be his co-host.  Between them, they came up with the concept of 8 Questions to Year 8 – a podcast during their lockdown lives.

The show is hosted by Oli and George, with an introductory theme tune played by George on the saxophone.

The podcast covers a variety of subjects from cooking to sport, TV viewing habits to news (think ‘And finally on News at Ten’).

The boys also endeavour to find out whether their fellow classmates have any hidden talents or a fact that people might not know about them. So far they have recorded one show (which went live on Tuesday), with the next one underway.  Two Yr 8 guests are invited on the show every week.

One episode in, there is still room for refinement (George is busy watching The Graham Norton Show to hone his chat show host skills!), but the boys are really enjoying it and we hope it’s going to be a huge success. I think they were inspired by Headmaster Mr Inglis’s lockdown 1 Podcast, HMS Elstree.”

If you missed the first show and would like to hear it, click on the link below.  Stay tuned for the next exciting 8 From 8 Podcast – coming soon!