Parishioners went back to school with their hymn books this week as their church prepares to undergo a facelift.

More than 70 worshippers from Burley Methodist Church attended 'Sunday school' as the weekly church services temporarily relocated to Burley Oaks School, Langford Lane.

The 10.30am Sunday service has now taken up residence in the school's assembly hall until July at the earliest as the church undergoes a £600,000 renovation.

Reverend Philip McDonald said: "I didn't take the service myself this week, but I have been told that it went very well. People felt very comfortable in the school and it won't seem strange to me taking my service in there, because I often take the school assemblies.

"I don't think I will find it daunting. We will have more flexibility in the school because we will be able to move the chairs, unlike the pews in the church, and we will be able to use the school overhead projector."

The church Sunday school will be allowed access to the Burley Oaks school library whilst they are resident in the building.

The congregation was forced to find an alternative venue to hold their Sunday worship as the church will be out of action for several months when work on the ambitious revamp begins.

The church will be modernised creating a multi-purpose building for all the needs of the congregation. Under the plans, the former school room, adjacent to the church, will be sold.

Chairs will be replacing pews and the gallery will be converted into rooms for meetings, Sunday school and recreation.

Work on the church will not begin until the contract for the sale of the Methodist Church Hall has been signed.

The sale will help finance part of the venture along with the sale of the school building next to the church.

The improvements to the church will transform it into a multi-purpose building, which it is hoped will be more flexible so it could even cater for school concerts and parties.

The removable chairs mean that instead of the traditional lay out of a church, worshippers could be seated in a circle or the chairs could be taken away for functions.

Plans include a new upstairs floor and new carpets. There will also be meeting rooms, classrooms, a kitchen and a lift, plus a fellowship room to be created on the lower floor.