Oxford University is trying to end the heated argument over its statue of Victorian imperialist Cecil Rhodes and is considering making a new one that students can write explicit graffiti on.

Some students have been protesting about the current statue and the university is trying to broaden its appeal to minorities following a number of demonstrations.

And in a bid to prevent its global reputation from becoming damaged, students and academics have launched a project following the Rhodes Must Fall protests.

In recent years, students have taken part in a 'Mass March for Decolonisation' in the city and have taken exception about about the presence of the statue.

Students have protested about the statue and one women held up a sign which read: 'Make Rhodes history'

Students have been walking through the city and have argued that Cecil Rhodes was a racist

Demonstrators have chanted 'tear it down' and 'Rhodes must fall' and argued that the mining magnate was racist.

But in a bid to end the argument, a new group has been awarded £20,000 by the university and it has created a list of ideas, one which focuses on creating a second statue of Rhodes.

This would allow protesters at Oriel College the chance to freely express themselves and Kalypso Nicolaidis, who leads the group, said she does not have an issue with students writing swear words across the copy of the statue.

Meanwhile, the university is also considering creating a website detailing Oxford's colonial legacy and contentious past, reports The Sunday Times.

A number of students have been protesting about the Cecil Rhodes statue at Oxford University (pictured)

The project's initial stage will be a website which will highlight how the university is addressing problems linked to 'racism, classism and colonialism'.

Other statues of Martin Luther King and Gandhi are also being considered in a bid to help its image.

The ideas also come after the university was accused of not admitting enough black British and ethnic minority students.

Pro-Vice Chancellor Rebecca Surender has backed the project which she described as being 'exciting, innovative and very relevant to our current goals'.

She said: 'We are going as fast as we can in terms of turning the dial on issues including the number of BME [black and minority ethnic] students at the university.

'We want to signal that we are open for business for everyone: that includes BME and British white working-class students.

Oxford University (pictured) is trying to prevent its global reputation from being damaged

'We want to say, 'Please apply — we want you to feel comfortable here'.'

The current statue, which is around 4ft tall, is one of six on the front of the Oriel building and has stood there since 1911.

However, students began calling for the Rhodes statue to be removed from Oriel in 2015, arguing that the mining magnate and founder of Rhodesia was racist - and benefited from African resources at the expense of many South Africans.

The campaign followed a similar #RhodesMustFall movement in South Africa, which succeeded in having a statue of Rhodes removed from the University of Cape Town after it was attacked as a symbol of oppression.

An Oxford University spokesman said: 'The idea of a statue which people can write on was a suggestion from one member of the group.'