Stormzy announces 30 more scholarships for Black students to attend Cambridge University

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Stormzy has confirmed plans to extend his scholarship initiative for Black students at Cambridge University.

In partnership with HSBC, Stormzy’s #Merky Foundation will provide 10 students with a £20,000 annual scholarship to cover tuition fees and maintenance costs. The programme will run across three years, meaning it will support 30 Black students across its full run. 

So far, the programme, dubbed the Stormzy Scholarship and originally launched in 2018, has supported six Black students – two of whom are set to graduate this year.

In a statement, Stormzy said: “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.

“I hope this scholarship continues to serve as a small reminder to young Black students that the opportunity to study at one of the best universities in the world is theirs for the taking.”

The University of Cambridge’s Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Virgo has also said that the institution has seen a “significant increase” in the number of Black students applying and being admitted to the university since the scholarships were announced three years ago.

Stormzy’s #Merky Books initiative has also been supporting a number of number of young writers from underrepresented communities since its launch in 2018 with a second edition of its annual New Writers’ Prize having been announced late last year.