Month: August 2025

BCfm Radio has launched a new Community Radio Road Safety Toolkit in partnership with the Road Safety Trust and the Community Media Association.

The free resource is designed to help community stations run locally focused campaigns while also supporting them to access sustainable funding.
The toolkit offers practical guidance on creating audio and digital road safety campaigns, including advice on messaging, collaboration and partnership working.
It also provides funding tips, enabling stations to work with local authorities, police and charities to make road safety programming a regular part of community broadcasting.
Marcus Smith, Development Lead at BCfm Radio, said: “Community radio has always been about local impact, and this toolkit helps stations take the lead in saving lives in their own neighbourhoods.
“It’s practical, accessible, and designed to support real action. Just as importantly, it also highlights a sustainable way for stations to access funding and build long-term partnerships around public interest content like road safety.”
The Community Radio Road Safety Toolkit is available now, free to download from the BCfm website.

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Global Academy has reported the best exam results in its history, with record achievements across both academic and creative subjects.

Headline results for 2024/25 show that 33% of all grades awarded were at the top level of 7-9 or Distinction/Distinction*, compared with a national average of around 22%.
In Media Production, 43% of grades were at Distinction+, more than double the national benchmark. Music Production achieved 48.5% Distinction+, while Creative Digital Media reached 34.9%. In Drama, 42% of grades were between 9-6.
Principal James Murray-Walsh said: “These are the best results in our history, and they belong to our incredible students.
“A third of all grades were at the very top level – far above national averages – which is an extraordinary achievement. At Global Academy we do education differently – our students don’t just sit exams, they build futures.”
From this September, every student will receive an iPad to support digital learning, and the Academy is already oversubscribed for September 2025.
Looking ahead, a new Media Scholars programme will launch in 2026, offering aptitude-based places for 10% of Year 10 students with outstanding creative skills.
Two new Saturday Schools are also set to open this November in South London and Scotland, providing opportunities for younger students from Year 8 to gain hands-on media experience.

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The Barn Theatre in Cirencester has confirmed the full cast for Haywire, a new play telling the story of how BBC radio created The Archers.

Written by long-standing Archers scriptwriter Tim Stimpson and directed by Joseph O’Malley, Haywire is licensed by the BBC and staged in the lead-up to the programme’s 75th anniversary on BBC Radio 4 in January 2026.
The play focuses on the early years of the drama, when a small Birmingham team recorded the very first episode above a used car showroom in December 1950.
The cast includes Liam Horrigan as Sam, Geebs Marie Williams as Jessica, Rosanna Miles as Fiona, Olivia Bernstone as Abbie, Anthony Glennon as Martin, Kieran Brown as Adrian and James Mack as Jonty.
Speaking about the project, Tim Stimpson said: “It’s been a long-standing ambition of mine to tell the story of how a small team recording above a car showroom created what is now the world’s longest running continuing drama.”
The Archers Editor Jeremy Howe said the Barn Theatre “bit our hands off” to stage the play, calling it “a love song to the early years of The Archers.”
Barn Theatre CEO Iwan Lewis added that staging the premiere recognises one of the most important moments in British radio history and a landmark in BBC broadcasting.
The production runs from 1st September to 11th October, with a press night on 4th September. Find out more by visiting the Barn Theatre website.

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