The music mogul and hip hop star announced yesterday that the Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School will open its doors in autumn 2016.

The school was given the green light in 2014, but Mr Combs’ involvement was not made public until this week.

In a statement, the Get Him to the Greek star described the creation of the school in his former inner-city neighbourhood as a “dream come true for me”.

According to The New York Times, the school will be open all year round and will follow the model of another successful charter in Connecticut - Capital Preparatory Magnet School, founded by Steve Perry.

‘Major push’ in education

It is understood that Mr Combs drafted in Dr Perry to open a similar school in Harlem, despite the latter initially resisting.

“I think that there’s a lot to be found in the fact that you have someone such as Combs, who is highly visible within our community, who has decided that his major push is going to be with our model and in education,” Dr Perry said, according to the newspaper.

The school will initially open with 160 students in the 6th and 7th grades (aged 11-13), before eventually expanding to 700 students from grades 6 through 12.

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