Young detectives get chance to solve Oxford murder

18 April 2011

Nearly 60 young sleuths from the south east will be investigating a ‘Murder in the cloisters’ at Oxford University next week (19-21 April) in a programme that gives students a chance to learn what university is like – socially and academically.

The fourteen and fifteen year olds are taking part in a free spring residential activity at the University, but the peace of the college quad will be shattered when the student union president is found dead and everyone becomes a suspect in his murder.

Similar to the summer schools the University has been running for many years, the students will be staying in accommodation at Pembroke College and visiting the University’s libraries, lecture theatres and museums. There will be tasters of subjects they are unlikely to study at school, like learning Greek with the Faculty Classics, and a chemistry lab will be turned into a forensic science facility as the students explore samples from suspects’ clothing.

The new skills and knowledge they will pick up will prove invaluable in their bid to find the killer. The students will have to remain vigilant throughout the three-day course, as they see the suspects around college and at a formal dinner.

The aim is to give students a taste of university life, including both the academic and social side of life at Oxford.

Robyn Pearce, Access Officer at Oxford University, said:  ‘We all enjoy a good murder mystery and there’s something satisfying about solving a big puzzle. ‘This free residential gives students from across the South-East a chance to experience life at University, whilst trying to solve the puzzle of whodunit.’

Will one of the students be able to crack the case and find the murderer?

A schedule of events and good times for filming and speaking with students can be provided upon request.

For more information, images or to arrange interviews, please contact the University of Oxford press office – 01865 280531 or press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk.