News

Folkestone’s popular Community Radio station, 105.9 Academy FM, which operates from the Folkestone Academy, has been awarded three grants totalling £62,600.

The station is to receive £24,000 over three years from the Wellcome Trust to run a science-education project for local young people.

The project will involve secondary school students learning about science, medicine and technology from scientists, doctors and engineers.

Students will be trained by Academy FM staff to record their interviews for broadcast.

Academy FM has also been awarded a grant from the OFCOM Community Radio Fund for £16,000, in conjunction with 107.8 Academy FM Thanet, which is based at the Marlowe Academy in Ramsgate.

This will fund a Business Development Manager who will work on projects that will help maintain the operation of the two radio stations, which are both registered charities.

Regulations prevent the stations from taking paid-for commercials, but the new post will enable Academy FM to develop other promotions and web advertising.

Both stations’ websites get thousands of hits per month, and are used by local businesses to promote their products and services.

A third grant, from the Overstone Grassroots Fund for £2,600 to Academy FM will fund a project educating young people about the wider Folkestone area, including trips to the Kent Downs, local farms, and museums.

Students will record their experiences for broadcast on Academy FM.

The station has received £20,000 from the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, and also receives financial support from a growing Friends organisation.

Over the next year Academy FM, which is largely funded by grants and donations, will have to raise around £45,000.

David Sharp, Academy FM Folkestone’s Station Manager said "Funding is hard to come by for charities at the moment, and it’s great that the potential of Community Radio is being recognised.

"We can now run some exciting projects that will benefit the young people of Folkestone. Our new Business Development Manager is a step towards making both Academy FM stations sustainable in the long term, although we badly need the support of local people and businesses to keep us on the air."

© Hawkinge Gazette and Channel Coast News 2012