Young singers will have the chance to exercise their vocal cords when a new opera club opens its doors.

Wheatley Park School is launching the club, for 14 to 16-year-olds, in the hope of training a future Pavarotti.

The aim is to overhaul the image of opera and encourage more young people to get involved.

The school has teamed up with Garsington Opera to set up the Garsington Youth Opera, which will also be open to pupils from other schools.

Jo Hatfield, head of drama at the school, said: "The whole idea is to give opera a chance and make it more accessible to young people.

"I think they often look at opera as something that is for older people and is a bit fussy and fuddy duddy. We want to use this new club to make it more relevant to them."

It follows a recent workshop which saw year 10 pupils working with the Garsington-based company at the school.

Pupils are currently devising their own opera, written in their own words.

It is hoped they will be ready to perform at the the Big Umbrella - a celebration of youth arts in Oxford at the Town Hall next month.

Trevor Davies, education officer for Garsington Opera, said he was very excited by the new project.

He said: "This new group will offer a fantastic experience for young people across the county, who want to get involved in performing arts.

"They will be working with people who are so good at what they do, they are at the top of their industry.

"The immediate objective for the group will be to finalise the piece for the Big Umbrella, so the group will really hit the ground running as it is only five weeks away."

Mr Davies hopes the new group will lay the foundations for a new community opera project, which the company hopes to set up later this year.

Mrs Hatfield hopes young people from across the county will come along to the group which will be taking place on Wednesday evenings from 6.45pm until 9pm in Wheatley Park school's main hall.

She said: "It's going to be a fresh take on opera, with dancing and singing and acting, and anyone who likes those things will get a lot out of joining the group."

To get involved in the group, contact Mrs Hatfield at the school or go to the school website and register for the group there.