In 2020, the University carried out detailed statistical analyses of Cambridge student characteristics and attainment outcomes as part of a wider programme to gain a better understanding of the potential causes for previously identified gaps in attainment between students who are awarded a 1st and those who are awarded 2.I degree class. The University identified the awarding gap for Black British undergraduates as one of the two most concerning awarding gaps.

This September, the largest survey to date of the opinions and attitudes of Black Britons, Black British Voices: the findings (cam.ac.uk), detailed that 41% of 10,000 respondents ‘definitely’ believe discrimination to be the main barrier to academic attainment for young Black people.

Providing sufficient support to Black British students is key to reducing this awarding gap: support in all forms, pastoral and financial, to ensure that once they have arrived in Cambridge, they are supported to go on to reach their full potential.

In October 2020, the University reported that over 300 undergraduates were Black Britons and celebrated that the number of Black British undergraduates taking up their place at Cambridge had more than tripled in three years. Widening Participation initiatives, both at Churchill and at the University, are positively impacting applications but the under-representation of Black British students at the University of Cambridge and Churchill College is still an issue that is being addressed in 2023.

Working harder to address this historic under-representation is an urgent priority. Increasing the diversity of student intake will help ensure the contribution of insights from the widest range of backgrounds, heritages and standpoints.

In order to optimise applications to Churchill from this under-represented group of students, the College needs to raise enough funds to set up an endowed fund of at least £100,000. This endowed fund will support UK students of Black African and African-Caribbean heritage by providing means-tested bursaries for undergraduates, as part of the Cambridge Bursary scheme, or an MPhil Studentship. Support may be awarded to both categories (ie. an undergraduate bursary and an MPhil Studentship) dependent on the level of income generated by the fund.