ONE of Oxford's oldest boys' schools is to open its doors to youngsters aged from four to seven, in a major expansion.

Summer Fields in Summertown wants to create a new 'pre-prep' school from September 2018 for boys in Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3.

Housed in Newton – one of the oldest and most historic buildings on the school site – the pre-prep will allow the school to educate boys right through their primary years.

At the moment the Mayfield Road school only caters for pupils from the ages of eight to 13.

Headmaster David Faber said: "This announcement signals an exciting new chapter in the school's history.

"Summer Fields has an unrivalled reputation for academic and co-curricular excellence, with record results achieved again in 2016.

"With a long-held desire to serve the Oxford community better, we are now enabling boys to benefit from a Summer Fields education from the very start of their schooling."

Subject to planning permission the new Summer Fields Pre-Prep will open in September 2018 for Reception and Year 3 boys aged four and seven.

Year 1 and Year 2 classes will be introduced for the pre-prep in 2019 and 2020, while the existing prep school will also expand to offer additional places for Year 4 pupils.

Oxford Architects has worked with the school on a state-of-the-art extension of the existing Newton building to provide purpose-built facilities for 80 boys aged from four to eight.

It will house learning and library spaces as well as indoor and outdoor play areas.

The school, founded in 1864, said that day fees would be reduced in order to make them more affordable to local families, although it did not clarify by how much.

Current fees are £7,246 a term for day pupils and £9,357 for boarders.

The school will also offer an increased number of bursaries to boys seeking day or boarding places from September 2018.

Chairman of governors Andrew Reekes said: "We are immensely proud of our positions as one of the leading boys' prep schools in the country, providing the highest quality of education and outstanding pastoral care to both day boys and boarders.

"We are delighted to now be able to make the benefits of a Summer Fields education available to even more boys in Oxford and the surrounding area."

The school said research showed the prep-school market was changing both locally and nationally, with parents seeking to send their children to the same school from Reception to the start of secondary school.