Student sleuths get a taste of life at Oxford

The fourteen and fifteen year olds have been taking part in a free spring residential activity at the University, but the peace of the college quad was shattered on Tuesday when the student union president was found dead and everyone became a suspect in his murder. The murder mystery format gave students a chance to visit different parts of the university in a bid to solve the case. 'This event gives young people an exciting experience of university life as they work together to find the answers.' The students stayed at Pembroke College and took part in a series of subject sessions, visiting the University's libraries, lecture theatres, and museums. There were tasters of subjects they are unlikely to study at school, including learning Syriac with the Faculty of Oriental Studies, and a chemistry lab was turned into a forensic science facility as the students explored samples from suspects' clothing. Kirsty Heelan, a student from Sandown High School on the Isle of Wight, said: 'The best part of the programme has been the experience overall. It was completely enlightening, and really showed us how university is completely different from high school - much harder, but also much better. 'It was a completely new environment for me, and the experience has made my university plans more solid - it's not just an idea any more.' The students had to remain vigilant throughout the three-day course as a second murder took place at a formal dinner on the second night, and the new skills and knowledge they picked up proved invaluable in their bid to find the killer, as they tracked down clues in the Ashmolean and questioned the suspects.