Oxford University is launching a charm offensive in the north east to try to change its elitist reputation.
Dons plan to take a recruitment drive to Tyneside's top football venue, St James's Park, the home of Newcastle United, to attract potential students from local schools.
Hundreds of teenagers are being invited to a conference on July 3 to meet University lecturers and hopefully members of the football team.
Undergraduates who went to school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne will also be on hand to answer questions about what it is like to be a student in the 'city of the dreaming spires'.
The Oxford Conference comes in the wake of the row over the failure of Tyneside pupil Laura Spence to secure a place at Magdalen College. She later gained five grade As at A level and a place at Harvard. Chancellor Gordon Brown accused Magdalen of operating an 'old boy' network.
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