In 2015 a National Broadcasting School[4] operates in Liverpool and is associated with the long-established ILR station Radio City, continuing in a similar tradition to the NBS of the 1980s.

NBS was seen as a way of attracting new talent to the independent broadcasting sector and providing professional training relevant to the new and more flexible working practices and modern equipment being introduced into ILR.

The six broadcast-capable studios and newsroom were new and well-equipped in comparison to the general standards in BBC local radio at that time, having the latest decks and cartridge machines.

"[6] Funding came from a controversial levy by the IBA on the profits of ILR stations, called "secondary rental", which created a pool of money for the common use of the industry.

In 1980 secondary rentals from ILR had been swollen by a strike at ITV which meant advertisers and audiences turned to radio, and part of this windfall was used to finance the setting up of the school.

As a working men's club in 19th century London it had been a focus for radical activity[7] - perhaps a fitting heritage for the ex-pirate radio staff who began to frequent it in the early 1980s.

"[9] The burgeoning Comedy Store above a strip club a few streets away became a magnet for those who saw Kenny Everett as a more suitable role model than Lord Reith.

This privately run station, free of state control and providing uncensored music and news to South Africa, was firmly in the pirate radio tradition.

Michael Bukht was programme controller of Capital Radio when John Whitney asked if he would launch NBS to support the expansion of ILR, then growing at the rate of five to eight stations a year.

NBS trainees often had the slightly strange sensation of vaguely recognizing the face of a visitor they passed on the stairs, but then hearing an instantly-recognizable voice.

Unlike the journalism courses, anyone could apply regardless of their qualifications, and Spence and his staff were deluged with audio cassettes which had to be whittled down ruthlessly to find candidates with potential.

"[11] Turning out presenters for ILR meant teaching them to work creatively within a format and to develop an authentic on-air personality which was bright but accessible for a broad local audience.

Nick Stuart, later to be an award-winning independent television producer and CEO of CTVC and Odyssey Networks, graduated in the top three of his radio journalism course to win a coveted industry placement at 2CR.

He quickly moved to a 5am shift at another station to compile traffic and travel reports, where his first bulletin prompted the newsreader to hit him around the head for not providing completely clean copy: "Maybe it was just a style of management that was big in those days, that's all.

But nearly all trainees accepted that the early months working in ILR would involve long hours and little if any pay, at least until they had proved that NBS had given them the practical skills valued by the industry.

Zeinab Badawi, who by the end of the 1980s was presenting Channel 4 News with Jon Snow, was one of the few trainees to have industry sponsorship: "In those days there wasn’t any kind of media course or anything like that.

"[27] Others who trained at NBS included the broadcaster and academic Tim McLellan,[28] Virgin Radio presenter Russ Williams, and the LBC talk show host Clive Bull.

Among the many musicians who trained in presentation and production was the reggae artist Mikey Dread, who had produced The Clash's iconic single Bankrobber and worked on their album Sandinista!.

[29] Martha Kearney graduated from NBS[30] at the start of a career in which she rose from phone operator and news information researcher at LBC to a BAFTA nomination for her coverage of the Northern Ireland Peace Process in 1998 and presenting the BBC's flagship The World at One Chris Shaw became programme controller of Channel 5 and editorial director of ITN Productions.

Jonathan Pearce[33] was a freelance football reporter in the early 1980s, then sports editor of Radio West, and in 2004 began to commentate on Match of the Day.

[34] John Leech won a clutch of Gold Medals at the New York Festival for his soul and dance shows, and a UK Sony Award for music documentary.

[35] Nick Hirst also won gold at the New York Festival and was responsible for running all British Foreign Office radio and print communications in more than 130 countries.

[38] Tony Leo returned from NBS to Radio St Helena where he developed the station using voluntary producers in the community, retiring after 29 years service.

[45] The documentarist Mark Halliley, best known for narrating UK series of The Apprentice, in his early years after leaving NBS produced a string of award-winning radio features, picking up New York Festival gold medals, Sony awards, a Prix Futura Berlin, and producing two ILR entries for the Prix Italia award.

The IBA was initially prepared to absorb some of the projected losses, with Capital Radio making substantial contributions, outweighing other ILR stations.

According to one of its television tutors, the ITN journalist Jon Lander: "It was starved of both facilities and money, the private sector being reluctant to invest in training".Announcing the closure, NBS chairman Peter Baldwin said that many broadcasters already looked back with "pride and affection" to their days at the school.

The statement added: "During its five years of operation, the NBS, under its principal, Michael Bukht, has achieved an outstanding reputation for practical vocational training in broadcast programming, journalism and engineering.

Former ITN staff reporter Sue Lloyd-Roberts had just a month's notice to organize a structured twelve-week training programme in TV journalism.

Bukht told former BRMB programme controller Mike Owen that NBS was "a wonderful organization," comparing it favorably to the subsequent rapid development of media studies degree courses.

"[53] The Guardian's classical critic and author Fiona Maddocks recalled: "His aim was to make first-class independent radio broadcasters of his students, of whom I was one: no airs, graces, circumlocution or elocution.