In Cambridge, more and more black students, encouraged by rapper Stormzy

Cambridge (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Joining Cambridge, "it was the dream of my life," says Matthew Omoefe Offeh.At 18, he is one of the growing number of black students entering the prestigious English university , encouraged, among others, by rapper Stormzy.

The young man from Luton, about fifty kilometers north of London, has just started studying engineering at Magdalene college, founded in 1428 in the famous university town crossed by the River Cam.

The basketball fan and avid reader has benefited from the support of Target Oxbridge, a program designed to identify and coach talented black students of modest origins to advance to Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest UK universities forming the elite.British and global, and seek to diversify their recruitment among the working classes and minorities.

"Some people think they won't fit in, that Cambridge is not a place for black students (...) but that shouldn't be a cause for concern," says Matthew.

The challenge of better representing minorities, he underlines, goes beyond education alone: "It puts black people in a better position to have an impact on the world".

Matthew is among 137 black UK students admitted to undergraduate studies this year, 50% more than last year; at the start of the 2015 academic year, they were only 38.This year 4.6% of UK undergraduates are Black By comparison, 3.3% of the population in England and Wales is black.

"This is the highest number we have ever had," said Professor Graham Virgo, vice-president of the university."We have made great efforts to encourage more black students to apply," said he said, after the university "realized that black students were underrepresented."

Posted Date: 2020-12-03