The charity helping black pupils aim for Cambridge

The CB Mentoring group meets at Wolfson College in Cambridge

A charity that mentors black schoolchildren says it wants local pupils to feel "more connected" with the University of Cambridge.

CB Mentoring was set up in 2020, after the murder of George Floyd in the USA highlighted the inequality and discrimination faced by many black people.

Group activities are held at Wolfson College and black graduate students offer tuition on a wide range of topics, including maths, science and English.

"Initially it was about access and empowering them to own certain spaces," said founder Edwin Panford-Quainoo.

"We live in Cambridge but a lot of these kids had never stepped into a college."

Figures from the university show 108 black-British students were admitted to its 29 colleges last year, up from 61 seven years ago.

Numbers peaked in 2020 when 152 students joined the colleges.

Children including 13-year-old Amelia (centre) benefit from one-to-one tuition with Cambridge students including George Wanjiru

Amelia, 13, said the sessions made her feel more "connected" to the university.

"It's a different environment. You can have a more in-depth talk, a one-on-one kind of thing."

Her friend, 14-year-old Maya, said she was always "excited" to attend.

"They're like a family," she explained.

"I don't feel like it's my university. I'm local to it but I don't feel like it's for me. But Wolfson has changed that."

'Level the field'

Grammy award-winning Dr Jeffrey Allen Murdock has led choir practice

Raising the children's confidence and ability through music is another method used by CB Mentoring.

Easy to do when one of your volunteers happens to be a Grammy award-winning musician with a history of teaching children.

Dr Jeffrey Allen Murdock joined Wolfson as a visiting professor and leads choir practice for the group.

His participation reflects the diverse background of the team behind the charity, among them lawyers, writers and a pharmacist.

Dr Murdock said: "One of my passions is to level the field, to ensure students have the same opportunities as the students in more affluent zip codes.

"And so what I've been doing with CB Mentoring has been a pleasant extension of that. It is sad that it has to exist though."

President Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu wants children to "visualise" themselves at the university

The need to "level the field" is not lost on Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, the president of Wolfson and only the third black head of a college at the University of Cambridge.

"It's about making sure children who wouldn't usually come into a college, come into a college. They can visualise themselves here and realise they can study here."

Scholarships funded by Stormzy and HSBC UK have been credited with helping increase the number of applications made by black students since 2018.

The university also runs several outreach programmes, including Realise and Insight, that work with local schools in order to attract children from both diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Dame Ijeoma believes even more could be done.

"The university needs to do as much as possible. I don't think you can ever do enough because we have so much inequality in the UK. And Cambridge is an unequal city. Encouraging people from black and Asian minority groups living in Cambridge is vital."

'Dream big'

The success of the charity lies with the dozens of volunteers who give up their spare time to counsel, mentor and teach the children.

For many, like Abraham Zhiri, it is a chance to give back and empower them from a young age.

"What I get out of it is satisfaction. I see them as [my] own sisters and brothers."

The 35-year-old arrived at the university from Nigeria last year to study a masters degree in scientific computing.

"I love seeing kids making good decisions at an early age. So no matter how busy I am, I make time to be here for their sake."

Abraham Zhiri said he felt like the children were his own brothers and sisters

It is a sentiment echoed by another masters student, George Wanjiru.

"They are young kids who look like me, who've grown up here but have no connection to the university. I feel it's my duty to give back to these kids and show them it's possible to dream big."

Their passion is what drives CB Mentoring, according to Mr Panford-Quainoo.

"Things are changing. But it's never enough," he said.

"And the grassroots for me is always forgotten. The local backyard. And that's where we come in.

"To hold the hands of the people left behind and bring them along."