AN actor played dead for a group of students considering applying to Oxford University.

In the quad of Pembroke College was a member of improvisational group Oxford Imps, as part of the annual Murder in the Cloisters spring programme.

It aims to give 12 to 15-year-olds a feel for university life, taking tasters in various subjects as well as using their skills to identify the ‘killer’.

This year 52 children – including 37 from Oxfordshire – took part in the three-day residential course, which ran until yesterday.

Among them was Cheney School pupil Mohammed Humza, 13, from Headington.

He said: “It’s been good. I have got a lot of historical knowledge and learned a lot about places. I am very interested in going to Oxford.”

Cowley schoolgirl Nyah Atkinson, 14, a pupil at St Gregory the Great, added: “It’s been really fun having the experience. The best part was watching the murder play.”

Youngsters also visited the university’s libraries, lecture theatres and museums, while a chemistry lab was turned into a forensic science facility as the group studied samples from suspects’ clothing.