Charles Parker Prize

Episode

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

2012

20120421

Sara Parker introduces the three winning radio features.

2013

20130511

Sara Parker meets the three student winners of the award dedicated to memory of her father

2014

20140426

Sara Parker meets the judges and medal winners of the Best Student Radio Feature.

2015

20150509

Sara Parker introduces and meets the winners of the Best Student Radio Feature prizes.

2016

20160528

Charles Parker was a talented radio producer who worked with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger over 50 years ago to create the famous series of 'radio ballads'.

Each year a team of radio professions meet to decide the winners of an award dedicated to his memory. For the past 12 years the Charles Parker Award has been presented to the best feature made by students studying radio at universities and colleges throughout the UK. In this programme Charles's daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, reviews this year's competition, talks to the judges, plays extracts from some of the entries, meets the prize-winners and plays their Bronze, Silver and Gold Award-winning features.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Soundscape Productions.

Sara Parker introduces and meets the winners of the Best Student Radio Feature prizes.

2017

20170610

20170611 (BBC7)

Sara Parker presents four features crafted by students, to win Bronze, Silver and Gold prizes dedicated to her father's memory.

Charles Parker was a talented radio producer who worked with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger over 50 years ago to create BBC Radio's famous series of 'Radio Ballads'.

Each year a team of radio professionals meet to decide the winners of an award dedicated to his memory. The Charles Parker Award is presented each year to the best feature made by students studying radio at universities and colleges throughout the UK.

Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, reviews this year's competition, meets the prize-winners and plays their winning features.

A Soundscape Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Sara Parker introduces and meets the winners of the Best Student Radio Feature prizes.

2018

20180728

20180729 (BBC7)

The Charles Parker Award is named after the famous radio producer who 60 years ago this year produced with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger the first in their series of innovative programmes which became known as the Radio Ballads.

The Charles Parker Prize is awarded annually to the best feature made by students studying radio at universities and colleges throughout the UK.

In this programme Charles's daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, meets the 2018 prize-winners and plays their Bronze, Silver and Gold Award-winning features.

Producer: Jay Sykes

A Soundscape Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Sara Parker introduces and meets the winners of the Best Student Radio Feature prizes.

2019

20190728

20190729 (BBC7)

The Charles Parker Prize is named after the famous radio producer who just over 60 years ago produced with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger the series of innovative programmes which became known as the Radio Ballads. The award is given annually to the best features made by students studying radio and audio, at universities and colleges throughout the UK.

Charles's daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, introduces the five running-up finalists and their award-winning features, as part of this year's extended celebrations, marking the centenary of Charles Parker's birth.

This programme features this year's five runner-up features, produced by; Jordan Blyth, Sam Ross, Lucy Ryan, Eddie Scott, and Faith Waddell. The five winners, including the Gold centenary prize recipient, can be heard all next week in the series ‘New Storytellers' on BBC Radio 4.

Producer: Jay Sykes

A Soundscape Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Hear the finalists of the Charles Parker Prize 2019, introduced by Sara Parker.

2020

20200816

2020 is another year of exceptional student feature makers - celebrated in the annual Charles Parker Prize programme.

Awarded to university and college students across the UK in recognition of outstanding feature production, the prize is named after the famous radio producer Charles Parker.

Though the late 1950s and 60s, Charles Parker, along with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, produced a series of innovative programmes now known as the 'Radio Ballads' which arguably pioneered a new landscape of radio storytelling - combining interwoven interviews and original verbatim musical compositions.

Charles' daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, introduces this year's winners and finalists, as we hear their journeys producing eight award-winning features on themes ranging from dementia, sex working, Cornish identity, film projection, and homelessness; all in celebration of her father's legacy.

This programme showcases extracts from all five winners of 2020; Alex Morgan, Charlotte Hurrell, Gabriel Green, Lewis Harrrower, and Richard Queree, as well as the three runner-up finalists; Bruce Guthrie, Chantal Herbert, and James Montague. You can hear the five winners' work in full in the series 'New Storytellers' on BBC Sounds.

Producer: Jay Sykes

A Soundscape Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Meet exceptional student feature-makers, as introduced by Sara Parker.

2021

20210727

20210731 (BBC7)
20210801 (BBC7)

Sara Parker introduces a new generation of student features makers, all winners and finalists of the Charles Parker prize 2021 – set up in memory of her father.

Through the late 1950s and 60s, pioneering radio producer Charles Parker, along with folk icons Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, made ‘The Radio Ballads' , an innovative series which brought a new landscape of radio storytelling – interweaving interview and actuality with MacColl and Seeger's musical narrative.

Charles' daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, hears this year's very best features on themes ranging from gender and race, body image, an asylum seeker, a window cleaner and a secluded all-male swimming place on the outskirts of Oxford to an invisible army of cleaners battling Covid and a doctor who turns to his love of the violin for solace with the Gold winning feature remembering 40 years on, the New Cross fire which killed 13 black teenagers.

There are extracts from the winning features of: Magdalena Moursy, Hunter Charlton, Chantal Herbert, Isobel Howe and Emma Millen, as well as the five runners-up Stephen Bissett, Shelley Gates, Mariana Araújo Ramos Maia Gonçalves, Ben Tulloh and Kate White.

You can hear the five winners' work in full in the series ‘New Storytellers' on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Jay Sykes

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Soundscape Productions.

Sara Parker introduces another new generation of exceptional student feature makers.

2023

20230729

20230730 (BBC7)
20230803 (BBC7)

Sara Parker introduces a new generation of student features makers, all winners and finalists of the Charles Parker Prize 2023 – set up in memory of her father.

The annual Charles Parker Prize celebrates a new generation of audio producers and storytellers - open to anyone studying radio and audio at Higher or Further Education establishments across the U.K.

Broadcast through the 1950s and 60s, along with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, Charles Parker's series known as the 'Radio Ballads' arguably left a lasting legacy on the landscape of radio storytelling; by interweaving original musical composition with remote interview recordings, and with a focus on highlighting working class voices - a practice until then unheard on BBC radio.

Charles' daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, hears this year's very best features; woven between highlights from their features, our ten new storytellers share their experience and journey creating their prize-winning work.

An “expertly montaged ? undersea dive exploring how man-made sounds threaten underwater ecologies; the “delicate and mysterious ? unveiling of a serial womaniser and his hitherto undiscovered children; the “beautiful and evocative ? ode to the Irish language and its ‘life force'; an “engrossing and touching ? investigation into the declining numbers of wild house martins; and a startlingly vivid and intimate depiction of two siblings' relationship with their abusive late father that judges agreed was both “captivating and horrifying ?.

There are extracts from the prize-winning features of; Thea Rickard, Dom Brown, Christina Hardinge, George Ruskin, and Lottie Steele, as well as five of our finalists; Kieran Davis, Petra Jones, Lydia Kenny, Matthew Temporal, and Alice Whalley.

You can hear the five winners' work in full in the series ‘New Storytellers' on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Jay Sykes

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Soundscape Productions.

Sara Parker introduces another new generation of exceptional student feature makers.

Episodes

Episode	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
2012	20120421		Sara Parker introduces the three winning radio features.
2013	20130511		Sara Parker meets the three student winners of the award dedicated to memory of her father
2014	20140426		Sara Parker meets the judges and medal winners of the Best Student Radio Feature.
2015	20150509		Sara Parker introduces and meets the winners of the Best Student Radio Feature prizes.
2016	20160528		Charles Parker was a talented radio producer who worked with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger over 50 years ago to create the famous series of 'radio ballads'. Each year a team of radio professions meet to decide the winners of an award dedicated to his memory. For the past 12 years the Charles Parker Award has been presented to the best feature made by students studying radio at universities and colleges throughout the UK. In this programme Charles's daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, reviews this year's competition, talks to the judges, plays extracts from some of the entries, meets the prize-winners and plays their Bronze, Silver and Gold Award-winning features. Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Soundscape Productions. Sara Parker introduces and meets the winners of the Best Student Radio Feature prizes.
2017	20170610	20170611 (BBC7)	Sara Parker presents four features crafted by students, to win Bronze, Silver and Gold prizes dedicated to her father's memory. Charles Parker was a talented radio producer who worked with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger over 50 years ago to create BBC Radio's famous series of 'Radio Ballads'. Each year a team of radio professionals meet to decide the winners of an award dedicated to his memory. The Charles Parker Award is presented each year to the best feature made by students studying radio at universities and colleges throughout the UK. Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, reviews this year's competition, meets the prize-winners and plays their winning features. A Soundscape Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra. Sara Parker introduces and meets the winners of the Best Student Radio Feature prizes.
2018	20180728	20180729 (BBC7)	The Charles Parker Award is named after the famous radio producer who 60 years ago this year produced with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger the first in their series of innovative programmes which became known as the Radio Ballads. The Charles Parker Prize is awarded annually to the best feature made by students studying radio at universities and colleges throughout the UK. In this programme Charles's daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, meets the 2018 prize-winners and plays their Bronze, Silver and Gold Award-winning features. Producer: Jay Sykes A Soundscape Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra. Sara Parker introduces and meets the winners of the Best Student Radio Feature prizes.
2019	20190728	20190729 (BBC7)	The Charles Parker Prize is named after the famous radio producer who just over 60 years ago produced with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger the series of innovative programmes which became known as the Radio Ballads. The award is given annually to the best features made by students studying radio and audio, at universities and colleges throughout the UK. Charles's daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, introduces the five running-up finalists and their award-winning features, as part of this year's extended celebrations, marking the centenary of Charles Parker's birth. This programme features this year's five runner-up features, produced by; Jordan Blyth, Sam Ross, Lucy Ryan, Eddie Scott, and Faith Waddell. The five winners, including the Gold centenary prize recipient, can be heard all next week in the series ‘New Storytellers' on BBC Radio 4. Producer: Jay Sykes A Soundscape Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra. Hear the finalists of the Charles Parker Prize 2019, introduced by Sara Parker.
2020	20200816		2020 is another year of exceptional student feature makers - celebrated in the annual Charles Parker Prize programme. Awarded to university and college students across the UK in recognition of outstanding feature production, the prize is named after the famous radio producer Charles Parker. Though the late 1950s and 60s, Charles Parker, along with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, produced a series of innovative programmes now known as the 'Radio Ballads' which arguably pioneered a new landscape of radio storytelling - combining interwoven interviews and original verbatim musical compositions. Charles' daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, introduces this year's winners and finalists, as we hear their journeys producing eight award-winning features on themes ranging from dementia, sex working, Cornish identity, film projection, and homelessness; all in celebration of her father's legacy. This programme showcases extracts from all five winners of 2020; Alex Morgan, Charlotte Hurrell, Gabriel Green, Lewis Harrrower, and Richard Queree, as well as the three runner-up finalists; Bruce Guthrie, Chantal Herbert, and James Montague. You can hear the five winners' work in full in the series 'New Storytellers' on BBC Sounds. Producer: Jay Sykes A Soundscape Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra. Meet exceptional student feature-makers, as introduced by Sara Parker.
2021	20210727	20210731 (BBC7) 20210801 (BBC7)	Sara Parker introduces a new generation of student features makers, all winners and finalists of the Charles Parker prize 2021 – set up in memory of her father. Through the late 1950s and 60s, pioneering radio producer Charles Parker, along with folk icons Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, made ‘The Radio Ballads' , an innovative series which brought a new landscape of radio storytelling – interweaving interview and actuality with MacColl and Seeger's musical narrative. Charles' daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, hears this year's very best features on themes ranging from gender and race, body image, an asylum seeker, a window cleaner and a secluded all-male swimming place on the outskirts of Oxford to an invisible army of cleaners battling Covid and a doctor who turns to his love of the violin for solace with the Gold winning feature remembering 40 years on, the New Cross fire which killed 13 black teenagers. There are extracts from the winning features of: Magdalena Moursy, Hunter Charlton, Chantal Herbert, Isobel Howe and Emma Millen, as well as the five runners-up Stephen Bissett, Shelley Gates, Mariana Araújo Ramos Maia Gonçalves, Ben Tulloh and Kate White. You can hear the five winners' work in full in the series ‘New Storytellers' on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Jay Sykes Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Soundscape Productions. Sara Parker introduces another new generation of exceptional student feature makers.
2023	20230729	20230730 (BBC7) 20230803 (BBC7)	Sara Parker introduces a new generation of student features makers, all winners and finalists of the Charles Parker Prize 2023 – set up in memory of her father. The annual Charles Parker Prize celebrates a new generation of audio producers and storytellers - open to anyone studying radio and audio at Higher or Further Education establishments across the U.K. Broadcast through the 1950s and 60s, along with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, Charles Parker's series known as the 'Radio Ballads' arguably left a lasting legacy on the landscape of radio storytelling; by interweaving original musical composition with remote interview recordings, and with a focus on highlighting working class voices - a practice until then unheard on BBC radio. Charles' daughter Sara Parker, herself an award-winning radio producer, hears this year's very best features; woven between highlights from their features, our ten new storytellers share their experience and journey creating their prize-winning work. An “expertly montaged ? undersea dive exploring how man-made sounds threaten underwater ecologies; the “delicate and mysterious ? unveiling of a serial womaniser and his hitherto undiscovered children; the “beautiful and evocative ? ode to the Irish language and its ‘life force'; an “engrossing and touching ? investigation into the declining numbers of wild house martins; and a startlingly vivid and intimate depiction of two siblings' relationship with their abusive late father that judges agreed was both “captivating and horrifying ?. There are extracts from the prize-winning features of; Thea Rickard, Dom Brown, Christina Hardinge, George Ruskin, and Lottie Steele, as well as five of our finalists; Kieran Davis, Petra Jones, Lydia Kenny, Matthew Temporal, and Alice Whalley. You can hear the five winners' work in full in the series ‘New Storytellers' on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Jay Sykes Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Soundscape Productions. Sara Parker introduces another new generation of exceptional student feature makers.