Wallingford School's new headteacher Wyll Willis is cracking down on bad behaviour and litter and has banned pupils from going into the town centre at lunchtime.

Mr Willis, 46, who was previously deputy head of a school in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, said the students were sending out the wrong messages about the school, because of the way many of them behaved.

He said he wants to raise standards generally at the school, which is officially designated a sports college, to improve exam results and make the town proud of the pupils.

Mr Willis said: "Standards have to rise. The leadership team and I have decided on our priorities."

Mr Willis, who co-authored a book on school standards called Climbing Towards Excellence, said he had had good support from most parents and from the students.

The ban on students going into the town centre followed complaints from the public about the way they behaved and the litter they left behind.

Mr Willis said: "This isn't acceptable. I know it's probably a minority, but for the moment students are banned from going into the town centre at lunchtimes. People should see an improvement in their town centre.

"Later we may make concessions for prefects it all depends on how things work. We want Wallingford School to be the one that parents are clamouring to get their children into."

He added that standards of behaviour in lessons were not what they should be and he wanted to create an environment where learning could flourish.

He has written to parents, and said that with very few exceptions, he had the backing of both them and students.