 She believed firmly in the value of radio programming to enrich children's educational experiences, which she considered overly rigid at the time; under her tenure, school radio programs began to use dramatizations and sound effects to enliven their lessons.Somerville worked hard to ensure that BBC school broadcasting was held to high academic standards and was seen as a legitimate enterprise, fighting against skeptics who considered radio to be good for entertainment only.In 1947, Somerville was appointed assistant controller to the Talks division.