Rony Robinson
Encyclopedia
Rony Robinson is a writer, educationalist and iconic, Sony Award-winning
BBC Radio Sheffield
daytime presenter.
His novels include: The Ted Carp Tradition (Hodder), The Beano (Faber). His plays include Snapshots (Theatre Royal,Stratford East), Events In An Upper Room (Belgrade, Coventry and ICA) and the Sony Award-winning Last Loves on BBC Radio 4
.
. He won a scholarship to Keble College, Oxford
, where he gained a Second Class Honours Degree in Modern History. While he was at Oxford he was the Editor of the weekly University newspaper Cherwell
. He also gained a Diploma of Education
.
Robinson taught English at two large inner-city London comprehensive schools, Eltham Green school and, as head of department, Sedgehill. He wrote a number of text and source books for the New English in the 1960s.
He published his first novel in 1971 and has been a full time writer since 1974.
(Sheffield) and once each at the Theatre Royal (Stratford East)
and Deptford Green School. Rony has had over a hundred plays produced all over the country. He has written stories and plays and poems for young people most successfully with Down Your Way (Nelson), A Time Of Bears (Macmillan) and I Want Doesn't Get (Faber). His The Beano has been adapted for various stage performances broadcast by the BBC and published in the United States
.
As a broadcaster Robinson has presented a daily show on BBC Radio Sheffield uninterrupted since 1984. For the BBC network he has written and voiced various documentaries and scripted seven radio and one television play.
In 1999 he received an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University
.
His children's poetry includes the much anthologised We've Got A Wawa At Our House. He currently lives in Totley
and plays and writes songs for the autoharp
. He has had a life-long interest in the revolutionary poet Edward Carpenter (1844 - 1929)
who lived in Sheffield, about whom he has written in two of his plays, including "Edward Carpenter Lives!"and also appearing in a number of his novels.
Sony Radio Academy Awards
The Sony Radio Academy Awards , started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. They are run by ZAFER Associates in association with the Radio Academy...
BBC Radio Sheffield
BBC Radio Sheffield
BBC Radio Sheffield is the BBC Local Radio service for English metropolitan county of South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. This includes the city of Sheffield, plus Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham, Chesterfield and surrounding areas. It was the BBC local radio station, beginning on 15 November 1967...
daytime presenter.
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
.
Childhood and education
Born John Goronwy Robinson, he was educated at All Saints Church of England Primary School and King Edward VII SchoolKing Edward VII School (Sheffield)
King Edward VII School is a secondary school and language college located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. KES, named after the reigning monarch, was formed in 1905 when Wesley College was merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School on the site of the former on Glossop Road...
. He won a scholarship to Keble College, Oxford
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall...
, where he gained a Second Class Honours Degree in Modern History. While he was at Oxford he was the Editor of the weekly University newspaper Cherwell
Cherwell (newspaper)
Cherwell is an independent newspaper, largely published for students of Oxford University. First published in 1920, it has had an online edition since 1996. Named after the local river, Cherwell is published by OSPL , who also publish the sister publication ISIS along with the Etcetera Supplement...
. He also gained a Diploma of Education
Diploma of Education
The Diploma of Education, often abbreviated to DipEd or GradDipEd, is a postgraduate qualification offered in many Commonwealth countries including Australia, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom...
.
Working life and early writing
He published his first novel in 1971 and has been a full time writer since 1974.
Writing and broadcasting
Twice resident playwright at The Crucible TheatreCrucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. As well as theatrical performances, it is home to the most important event in professional snooker, the World Snooker Championship....
(Sheffield) and once each at the Theatre Royal (Stratford East)
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
and Deptford Green School. Rony has had over a hundred plays produced all over the country. He has written stories and plays and poems for young people most successfully with Down Your Way (Nelson), A Time Of Bears (Macmillan) and I Want Doesn't Get (Faber). His The Beano has been adapted for various stage performances broadcast by the BBC and published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
As a broadcaster Robinson has presented a daily show on BBC Radio Sheffield uninterrupted since 1984. For the BBC network he has written and voiced various documentaries and scripted seven radio and one television play.
In 1999 he received an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University is a higher education institution in South Yorkshire, England, based on two sites in Sheffield. City Campus is located in the city centre, close to Sheffield railway station, and Collegiate Crescent Campus is about two miles away, adjacent to Ecclesall Road in...
.
His children's poetry includes the much anthologised We've Got A Wawa At Our House. He currently lives in Totley
Totley
Totley is a suburb on the extreme southwest of the City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. Lying in the historic county boundaries of Derbyshire, Totley was amalgamated into the city of Sheffield in 1935, and is today part of the Dore and Totley electoral ward in the city, though it remains...
and plays and writes songs for the autoharp
Autoharp
The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
. He has had a life-long interest in the revolutionary poet Edward Carpenter (1844 - 1929)
Edward Carpenter
Edward Carpenter was an English socialist poet, socialist philosopher, anthologist, and early gay activist....
who lived in Sheffield, about whom he has written in two of his plays, including "Edward Carpenter Lives!"and also appearing in a number of his novels.