Stormzy wants his scholarship programme to encourage students to strive for the best education possible.
The ‘Shut Up’ hitmaker returned to his old school, the Harris City Academy in south London, on Thursday (16.08.18) – the day A-level results were released – to announce his new initiative, which will cover the fees for two people this year and two next year to study at the prestigious University of Cambridge.
Stormzy hopes to encourage the admission of more black students to top universities after statistics show none got into some of Cambridge’s colleges between 2012 and 2016.
He told the BBC: “If you’re academically brilliant, don’t think because you come from a certain community that studying at one of the highest educational institutions in the world isn’t possible. 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.”
And the 25-year-old star – whose real name is Michael Owuo Jr. – admitted he had set his sights on studying at Cambridge or the equally highly regarded the University of Oxford when he was at school, but then “diverted” to a music career instead. He said: “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.”
The Stormzy Scholarship will pay for tuition fees and provide a maintenance grant for up to four years of an undergraduate course. The ‘Big For Your Boots’ star is funding this year’s entries but hopes to engage support from additional investors to become part of the scheme.
To be eligible for entry, applicants must be of black ethnicity and have an unconditional offer to study at the university. Applications must be submitted by 31 August 2018, and successful applicants will be selected by a panel of University staff.
