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Artist News
Stormzy expands Cambridge University scholarship scheme
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 30 July 2021
Stormzy has expanded his Cambridge University scholarship scheme by teaming up with HSBC. He will now provide a £20,000 annual scholarship for ten new black and mixed race students a year for the next three years.
“For 30 more black students to have the opportunity to study at Cambridge University – the same year our initial 2018 scholars graduate – feels like an incredible milestone”, says the rapper.
Cambridge University’s Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Graham Virgo, adds: “Since the Stormzy Scholarships were announced in 2018 we have seen a significant increase in the number of black students applying to study here and being admitted, and we are very proud to see the first two students supported by the scheme graduate this year”.
As I think someone might have mentioned, the scholarship was launched in 2018. Initially, supporting four students through their undergraduate study – two a year for two years – Stormzy covered the costs of the programme himself. The scheme will now run as a partnership between the rapper’s #Merky Foundation charity and HSBC, with the final intake graduating in 2025.
As also noted by Virgo, the first two students to benefit from the scholarship recently graduated, both with 2:1 degrees. And Cambridge University has also seen an increase in the number of black and ethnic minority students applying since the launch of the programme, which has been dubbed “the Stormzy effect”.
