At Academy FM we use the medium of radio to work with young people in a variety of ways. These projects raised awareness of science and medicine amongst young people. They were funded by the Wellcome Trust, one of the world’s major supporters of science and medicine research and education. We won the 'Gold' award for Innovation at the 2018 Community Radio Awards for this work.

These projects were unique in the way they used radio & media production techniques to inform young people about science. The projects were led by Helen Sharp, an ex-BBC science and medicine journalist. She led groups of young people who came up with science and medicine questions they wanted to know the answers to. Then, Helen and the students research the subjects, and identified suitable people to interview to get the answers to their questions - one advantage of a radio station running this is that it was easy to get some fantastic interviewees who were keen to come on the radio. The students interviewed adult professionals including doctors, scientists, pilots, animators and zookeepers. We also organised school Science Days, and many science-based sessions in primary and secondary schools in our District.

The projects enhanced the Science curriculum in schools by allowing young people to find out about the science behind things they’re interested in. They gave young people an understanding that science and medicine affects their everyday lives. The students were easily engaged, as they worked in a radio environment to prepare research notes and interviews that helped them learn the subject in detail. 

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