British-Ghanaian Grime rapper, Stormzy has announced plans to support 30 students through studies at Cambridge University via his scholarship scheme.
Through a new partnership between Stormzy’s #Merky Foundation and the bank HSBC, 10 students per year will receive a 20,000 Euros annual scholarship to cover tuition fees and maintenance costs. Stormzy in a statement 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”.
Stormzy
It can be recalled that the Stormzy Scholarship was launched in 2018 and has so far supported six Black students through their studies at the prestigious university.
That notwithstanding, last year, 137 black students were admitted to the elite university, Cambridge. This, the school noted, is a rise of just over 50 percent of the 2019-20 academic year. This followed a similar increase of almost 50 percent in the previous year.
Cambridge’s senior pro-vice-chancellor, Prof Graham Virgo, touching on the scholarship and increase said: “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”.
It is worth mentioning that the rise in the number of black applicants, and those being admitted to the university, has been dubbed the “Stormzy effect”.
Stormzy also added: “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.”
According to some reports, to be eligible for a 2021 scholarship, applicants must have a confirmed place to start at Cambridge in October and be a UK student of black or mixed-race heritage.
Scholarship winners are selected from a list of applicants by a panel of university staff and experts from higher education, with the President of the Cambridge’s student African-Caribbean Society also sitting on the panel.
That notwithstanding, Stormzy seems to be on a mission to position the black race in the spotlight. Just recently, Stormzy’s publishing imprint #Merky Books announced its first children’s book, which will focus on a number of different real-life ‘Superheroes’.
The comic book titled, ‘Superheroes: Inspiring Stories of Secret Strength’ focuses on 50 different figures from communities that are underrepresented in children’s literature. They include authors such as Candice Carty-Williams and Reni Eddo-Lodge, actor Riz Ahmed, broadcaster Reggie Yates, former footballer Ian Wright, comedian Mo Gilligan and many more.
It was written by Sophia Thakur, illustrated by 21-year-old student Denzell Dankwah, and also features an introduction written by Stormzy himself.
Nonetheless, it’s due to be published on September 16, with eight percent of proceeds going to the MC’s #Merky Foundation, a charity that aims to tackle racial inequality and injustice.
It is hoped that the publication of the new book will help break the mold when it comes to representation in children’s literature.
Research by the charity BookTrust has found that only 7 percent of children’s books published in the UK between 2017 and 2019 featured characters of color.
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