About Us

Scratch Radio is the official student radio station of Birmingham City Students' Union, broadcasting across Birmingham City University's five campuses, to over 30,000 students.

The station's roots stem back to the 1980s when BCU was known as Birmingham Polytechnic. From an earlier concept station, Scratch emerged as a joint student and community venture back in the early 2000's and its alumni have gone on to be part of the radio sector at every level, from local stations through to commercial brands and both local and national BBC stations.

Our students have also won numerous awards including multiple Student Radio Awards, awards from the Radio Academy and even international trophies from the New York Festival.

However, we're not stopping there. A core purpose of Scratch, as well as playing the best mix of music to students at BCU, is to enhance their employability and give them experience of industry. Whilst some Union's are cutting student media, BCUSU are investing in it.

In the last few years, we've moved into a new home in the heart of the Students' Union. £10,000 was invested in a brand new studio setup and we continue to develop that offering.

Scratch is run by a committee of students, many of whom study at the University's highly acclaimed School of Media. This link gives them the option to use the industry standard facilities there alongside our own, purpose built, studios in the heart of the City Centre campus.

MEET THE COMMITTEE:

Scratch is run by a committee of students, supported by the Students' Union. 

Scratch Alumni

We're really proud of our former members, many of whom have gone on to form successful careers in the media industry, both in the UK and internationally.

Here's just a few of our success stories:

Ben Stones
BBC Radio 2

 

Johnny Seifert
Talk TV

 

Carl Bennett
GB News

 

Jack Carson
GB News

Dan Richards
BBC Radio WM

 

Rachel Chew
HiFM Oman