Tutors from Hertford College travelled to east London on June 21 to take a seminar for teenagers from 55 schools.

The event was organised in partnership with the Excellence in Cities Initiative, a Government-led three-year programme designed to improve the education of children in inner-city areas.

In February, five head teachers and five borough co-ordinators from east London visited Oxford to discuss how the college could work with talented pupils to give them an insight into studying beyond school level, so more might consider applying for places at university. In the next three years, the college will carry on working with these pupils and their schools, offering advice and academic support in a programme developed in close consultation with their teachers.

Yesterday's seminar covered such subjects as solving murders by looking at soil, and the origins of the alphabet.

Pupils also had the opportunity to discuss the scientific facts behind topical debates in genetics and biotechnology with Sir Walter Bodmer, Principal of Hertford and chairman of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.