THREE pupils were involved in an horrific crash, which killed the driver of their car, as they returned to their independent school after a weekend away.

The 19-year-old driver died and a 16-year-old boy was seriously injured in the crash on an unclassified road outside Kingham Hill School, Kingham, near Chipping Norton, on Sunday night.

The victim was not a pupil or a former pupil, but had invited three friends, two male twins, and a girl, all in their GCSE year, to his parents' Gloucestershire home for the weekend.

They were on the journey back to the boarding school at about 9pm, when their blue Renault Clio collided with a green and grey Daihatsu Fourtrak Estate close to the building's gates.

The Clio driver was taken to Horton General Hospital, Banbury, but died shortly after 6am on Monday.

One of the male passengers, a rear seat passenger, was taken to Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, where he remains in a serious condition.

The other passengers, the 16-year-old's twin brother and a female teenager, did not have life-threatening injuries. The male driver of the Daihatsu was not seriously injured.

Headteacher Martin Morris said the 19-year-old,, who died, was from Upper Slaughter, Gloucestershire. Police have not yet revealed his identity.

Mr Morris added: "We have our own chapel, where we have kept a vigil all day., The chaplain and school counsellors have been talking to pupils.

"A German oral examination was postponed because some pupils were too distraught. The chaplain has also been visiting parents in the hospitals and I am also visiting.

"The pupils have been fantastic supporting each other there is a very close family community here and it is at times like this that the strength of the school shines."

The road was closed for several hours while emergency services worked at the scene. It has now been reopened.

Kingham School is home to 230 boarding pupils aged 11 to 18.