South London-born grime star Stormzy has announced a new scholarship that will pay for two black students to attend Cambridge University. The Stormzy Scholarship will cover tuition fees and a maintenance grant for up to four years of an undergraduate course at the prestigious institution.
“I was always reminded by my teachers that I was destined, if I wanted, to go down that road and study at one of the top universities,” Stormzy told BBC Breakfast. “I diverted and ended up doing music, so it didn’t happen for me. I thought I was quite a rare case in that I knew that was possible. That’s not always the case. When students are young, academically brilliant and getting great grades, they should know that’s an option.”
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Cambridge has come under scrutiny for its poor diversity record recently. Figures released in June show that some of its colleges admitted no black students at all between 2012 and 2016, while others admitted just one black student per year.
Stormzy will pay for tuition and maintenance for
Black students accepted at Cambridge have until August 30 to apply for the Stormzy Scholarship. Students in the UK receive their A-Level results today.
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