Rosie Stewart, of Culworth Grounds Lodge in Thorpe Mandeville, suffered a fatal head injury in a collision between the Vauxhall Corsa she was driving and a Mercedes C Class on the B4525 near Middleton Cheney.

The teenager, who had been on her way to school, was confirmed dead at the scene after the crash on November 2 last year.

An inquest in Northampton heard that Rosie was a keen horse rider who had been one of six people selected for Britain's eventing team shortly before her death.

The A-level student, at Tudor Hall School in Banbury, had passed her driving test just six weeks before the crash.

In a statement, Marian Stewart, Rosie's mother said: "My last words to her as always when she left were, 'I love you. Have a good day. Drive safely'.

"We are still trying to come to terms with her death. Rosie was not just my daughter, but my friend and my soulmate.

"She was a very special person in ours and many others' lives."

The inquest heard from Deborah Last, the Mercedes driver, who said she was doing about 40 miles an hour when she approached a bend and saw the Corsa swerve on to her side of the road. She said there was nothing she could have done to prevent the accident.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Anne Pember said: "Rosie really should have had her whole life ahead of her. She had achieved a great honour in equestrian sport. I do believe it was a driver error on Rosie's part.

"She had only very recently passed her test."