A private school is relaunching itself with a new headteacher, a £50,000 refurbishment and a radical new teaching structure.

Suzy Lawrence took over the reins of St Andrew's School in Wantage, a mixed fee-paying school for children up to 11 years old, earlier this month.

The school's former deputy headteacher replaced Margaret Parkes, who was headteacher of the Wallingford Street school for almost 20 years.

Over the summer, the school was redecorated, with new carpets, lighting, and signs.

Established in 1950, it is owned by American company Kaplan, and has 45 pupils, but has the capacity for about 90.

It will phase in a new type of teaching practice, called 'Building for the Future' by dividing pupils into classes according to their ability and not age.

Miss Lawrence, 35, said: "It's been done in several schools in the country, it's not done anywhere around Wantage. I haven't seen it done in Oxfordshire before.

"We feel we can offer a more individual, more tailored education, much more focused on what each pupil needs."

She said the school had been affected by the current economic situation which forced some parents to remove their children.