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Cambridge increase black student admissions by 50 per cent in a year

A record 91 black students were admitted in 2019


Cambridge University let in a record 91 black students in 2019.

It's an increase of almost 50 per cent over last year, and means there are almost 200 black undergrads at Cambridge.

The uni credited the "Stormzy effect" for encouraging more black students to engage in its outreach programmes, after the rapper launched a scholarship for two students a year.

However, Cambridge has faced heavy criticism in the past for not admitting enough black students. Between 2012-2017, some Cambridge colleges admitted no black students, with six out of the 29 undergraduate colleges taking fewer than 10 black students.

Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education), Professor Graham Virgo, said:“The University has worked hard to get the message out that it is a welcoming place for students regardless of their ethnicity.

"This record rise in the number of black students is a credit to their hard work and ability: we have not lowered entry standards. It is also a credit to the hard work put in by admissions staff across the University and Colleges in running various outreach activities, and the positive campaigns run by our student societies and external partners. We have achieved this without any reduction in offer levels or provision of preferential treatment.”

Wanipa Ndhlovu, President of the university’s African-Caribbean Society, said: “This is really good news and is a testament to the hard work that ACS, as well as the University, has been putting in to break down perceptions.

"It should send out a signal to other black students that they can find their place at Cambridge and succeed. I hope this will be seen as encouraging to any black student who may have been told Cambridge isn’t the place for them.”