The music artist Stormzy said he was “really proud” of the 56 students he has helped financially to study at Cambridge University.

Stormzy, whose real name is Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr, launched the Stormzy Scholarship in 2018, funds the education of black UK students to study at the university.

The 32-year-old recently received an honorary Doctorate in Law from the University of Cambridge for his programme.

Speaking to the BBC’s One Show about the students, he said: “I’m just really proud of them. Hopefully in 10, 20, 30, 40 years I’ll hear a story about someone who cured this disease or someone who pioneered in this field, and they’re like, actually, they had the Stormzy scholarship all those years ago.”

So far, 56 students have benefited from full tuition and even maintenance support, backed by his #Merky Foundation and HSBC UK.

When the grime legend launched the scheme, Stormzy said: “It’s so important for black students, especially, to be aware that it can 100% be an option to attend a university of this calibre.”

When explaining why the scholarship programme was important to him, he said: “When I first done this scholarship I didn’t want to meet the students.

“I didn’t want the students to feel like they owed me anything. But to actually sit down to talk to them, hear their stories, and you’re like, damn, this is real.

“A lot of them say openly they wouldn’t have applied without the scholarship being there.”

Stormzy’s mother Abigail Akweley attended her son’s degree ceremony in June.

She said this achievement was “the greatest one. [It’s] Cambridge.”

“If you see me crying, it’s tears of joy,” she added.

When speaking about the doctorate, Stormzy said: “This is such a full circle from someone who wanted to go to Cambridge, ended up being a musician, and to work with the university, being recognised and honoured in this way, it’s like, it’s perfect.”