The University of Cambridge is supporting a charity campaign for young people in and around care in the East of England by sponsoring three large giraffe sculptures in the city.

The giraffes, which make up part of an art trail across the city, will remain in their places for 10 weeks before being sold in a charity auction.

There are 93 sculptures across the city, being made up of 31 large giraffes and 62 miniature models, which have been painted by schools and community groups.

Break, the charity responsible for organising the trail, supports young care leavers by providing a safe home for vulnerable children who cannot be left with their family. They stated that the Giraffe campaign was a reflection of their values, by “standing tall for young people with care experience and telling them that the sky is never the limit”.

The three University sponsored sculptures are titled “Growth”, “Cosmic Explorer”, and “Hubert”. They are situated at Great St Mary’s Church, Eddington Square, and the University West Hub respectively.

“Growth”, the statue outside Great St Mary’s, was designed to reflect the aspirations of the university towards educational inclusion, with designer Charlie Stafford stating that it was “inspired by the idea that no matter where you come from, or what start you’ve had in life, you can grow as a person, create your own opportunities and become your best self”.

One of the other giraffes “Cosmic Explorer” is designed to reflect Cambridge and Eddington’s ties to Physics, whilst “Hubert” was painted by school children from the University of Cambridge Primary School.

Corpus Christi College is also taking part in the campaign. Their mini Giraffe, Camelopard, was decorated by PhD student Emma Bouckley. The design of their Giraffe was inspired by the phrases “head in the clouds” and “shoot for the stars” and aims to inspire Corpus students to “raise their aspirations” and “dream big”.