THE family of an Abingdon schoolgirl killed in a collision with a van last night said she would be “dearly missed”.

Eleven-year-old Ty-Ree Partridge died after suffering serious head injuries in Copenhagen Drive on Wednesday.

She was on her way home from Larkmead School’s science club when the accident happened, and was taken to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, where she died on Thursday.

Her mother Emma-Jane Partridge and stepfather James Turner said last night: “Ty-Ree was much liked everywhere she went and made friends easily.

“She made her own path in life and knew her own mind.

“She was always clowning around and was a real family girl, being especially excited about the imminent birth of her new baby sister.

“She will be dearly missed and was a much-loved daughter and sister.”

Ty-Ree, who had a brother, Danny, was a pupil at Larkmead School and had also studied at Abingdon’s John Mason School.

She was the second Larkmead School pupil in nine months to have died in a cycling accident in the town and her death has sparked fresh calls for additional safety measures on the town’s roads.