Cambridge to offer more scholarships to black students

CAMBRIDGE University has pledged to increase scholarships for black British students after its slavery inquiry uncovered links to an “appalling history of abuse”.

The university said it will create postgraduate scholarship places for black British students and scholarships for postgraduate students from Africa and the Caribbean. It will also fund more research into the legacies of slavery and commission a work of art to commemorate the achievements of black scholars and alumni of the university.

Prof Stephen Toope, the vice-chancellor of Cambridge, said: “It is not in our gift to right historic wrongs, but we can begin by acknowledging them.

“Having unearthed our university’s links to an appalling history of abuse, the report encourages us to work even harder to address current inequalities – particularly those related to the experiences of black communities.”

The university launched an inquiry over three years ago into how the 800-year-old institution benefited from the slave trade.

It followed the Rhodes Must Fall movement in 2015, when students demanded the removal of a statue of the Cecil Rhodes from Oriel College.