An Oxford college is staging an Inspector Morse-style murder mystery game to introduce more working-class boys to the historic university.

About 50 pupils from state schools in the South East will take part in the three-day "Murder in the Cloisters" event at Pembroke College.

Tutors said the teenagers would have to follow a trail of clues based on academic subjects.

They would interview suspects after finding a body in the college quad. Among those expected to be helping the young sleuths with their inquiries will be the college Master, his daughter and the cook.

The event was organised by Sinead Gallagher, access co-ordinator at Oxford University.

She said: "Summer schools often attract more girls than boys, so we wanted to give the residential a theme that would be appealing to boys in particular.

"Murder in the Cloisters should be great fun.

"The students will learn a lot about what going to university means - study your sources carefully, learn to gather facts and question them, and draw your conclusion based on firm evidence."

The event is part of a Government-funded drive to encourage teenagers from disadvantaged families with little experience of higher education to consider applying to university.