A FORMER Marlow schoolboy will vie with giants of the broadcast world to win an award at the 'radio Oscars'.

Ben McGrail, 25, an ex-pupil at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School, is part of the Andover Sound News Team nominated for the prestigious 'News Journalist of the Year’ category at the Sony Radio Academy Awards.

Mr McGrail, who used to write Wycombe Wanderers reports for the South Bucks Star and Free Press,is hoping he and his colleagues will cause an upset.

They are competing against heavyweight national media outlets such as BBC Radio 4, the World Service and LBC – whose presenter Nick Ferrari – who is up for a record five awards.

Mr McGrail, formerly a resident in High Wycombe and Marlow Bottom is news editor at 106.4 Andover Sound, a small independent commercial station based in Andover in Hampshire.

Mr McGrail said: “We are pretty small in the grand scheme of things so to be up for two awards especially in the journalist category is amazing.

“They are usually dominated by the BBC so for a station like us to get in is pretty good. It's not going to be easy to win but we are confident."

The station won the South region awards to qualify.

Andover Sound was also nominated in the Station of the Year category – which Mr McGail said was “a huge achievement for a station which only launched in May 2008.”

The Wiltshire resident was once a familiar face for customers at Burger's tea rooms on the Causeway, Marlow, where he worked for five years.

He is one of only two journalists at the station and the job is Ben’s first full time role in radio after graduating from Leeds University in 2007.

He said: “For this to come so early in my career is brilliant and a massive boost.”

The ceremony takes place at Grosvenor House Hotel in London and will be hosted by Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans.