Bexhill FM rides the waves and it's getting bigger!

The community radio station was set up by students from Bexhill High and St Richard's Catholic College, with contributions from Bexhill College and local primary schools, ran throughout last week.

Although teachers Chris Cole, Steve Cross, Steve Harris and Yannick Crespy had their own shows, it was run almost entirely by the students themselves. A "live lounge" played host to "battle of the bands", the news room broadcast updates of local and national news every hour, and there was, of course, the recording studio itself. New this year was a text message and "quick message" web service in addition to the usual calls and emails.

Students Hollie Pinder, Zoe Willard, Tom Evans and Richard Harris were responsible for ensuring that everything went smoothly. Bexhill FM has been running for four years, with Bexhill College students Hollie (news team) and Zoe (advertising) part of the project from day one. The station is getting "bigger and better every year" said Hollie, excited by the number of people willing to be involved.

"The dedication of the students is remarkable, with Tom (technical) travelling from Wales to be a part of the project, and St Richard's Catholic College student Richard (programming), along with the others, staying on for as long as 13 hours every day."

One of the main aims of the project was to improve communication and links between members of the community as a whole, as well as between schools.

The station featured contributions from local primary schools in the form of songs, poems, or even radio plays, with Little Common Primary School performing an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

The team at the station promoted Bexhill and was particularly aware of the need to focus on current events. A live debate was set up between Mike Conn, headteacher at Bexhill High, and Tony Campbell, Principal of St Richard's Catholic College, on the subject of education, and an interview with the Rev Ed Jones of Beulah Baptist Church on religion.

Hollie said they were trying to "bridge a gap between young and old" and promote community spirit. "Youth always gets a bad press", said Hollie, adding that the project set out to counter negative impressions.

The production team were concerned, too, that young people didn't have enough of a say in plans for Bexhill's development. Consequently, they had a debate in teacher Chris Cole's breakfast show between students and Cllr Graham Gubby, leader of Rother District Council.

The station received generous support from such sponsors as the De La Warr Pavilion, Hastings Direct and the Bexhill and District Education Business Partnership, "but we're always looking for more!" smiled Zoe.

As Bexhill FM is an RSL station and not a commercial one, any profits are small and go towards next year's project.

Zoe is keen to increase the number of local companies that advertise on the station, explaining that the project is essentially "community based".

Anyone interested in sponsoring next year's Bexhill FM, please contact [email protected].