105.9 Academy FM wins FIVE 2016 Community Radio Awards!

 

At an awards ceremony at Birmingham City University on Saturday, Folkestone’s charity Community Radio station won five Community Radio Awards including two Golds. The Awards are in their inaugural year, and were open to all the Ofcom licensed Community Radio stations. Academy FM Folkestone submitted entries to five categories, and won an award in all of them:

 

GOLD – Young Person of the Year – Lee Churchyard

 

GOLD – Innovation Award – The Folkestone Status

 

SILVER – Community Development Project of the Year – The Motiv8 Project

 

SILVER – Arts & Creative Radio of the Year – Between the Storms

 

BRONZE – Female Presenter of the Year – Kay McLoughlin

 

The awards demonstrate the wide range of Academy FM’s work:

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• Lee Churchyard is a 15-year-old Folkestone Academy student, and one of many young people who learn and volunteer at the station. He also does a large amount of other community work.

• The Folkestone Status project (funded by the Colyer Fergusson Charitable Trust and the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust) was recognised for the innovative way in which funded educational work and a community information service can be joined together.

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• The Motiv8 project was funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and helped many young unemployed people find training or jobs.

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• ‘Between the Storms’ was a project run by the ‘Pavement Pounders’ arts group that recorded people’s memories of our town as a port. Academy FM produced two radio features with them

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• Kay McLoughlin presents a lively radio interview & discussion show every Wednesday morning. She is a well known local figure, and informally known as the ‘President of Folkestone’!

 

Dave Sharp, Station Manager said:  “It was a fantastic evening. We’re proud and delighted to win 5 awards across such a variety of categories. The biggest moment was when Lee Churchyard won the ‘Young Person of the Year’ award – everyone on our table went crazy, especially Lee’s parents. All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the support we get from the Folkestone Academy, the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust and our other funders. Our volunteers deserve a special mention, as their dedication and time spent on Academy FM is remarkable. Despite challenges in funding, the sector is doing some fantastic work and it was great to see so many stations getting recognition; the passion and enthusiasm in our sector is extraordinary”.

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