Parents were left delighted after a new secondary school opened its doors in Watford today.

Students in Year 10 and Year 12 joined The Watford University Technical College (UTC), based in Sanyo House, earlier today.

Students helped show parents, governors and guests round the new building in Colonial Way. 

A look inside the new Watford UTC

From 2015, The Watford UTC will offer 600 students courses designed to give pupils a taste of working life and the school will specialise in computer science, hospitality, tourism and event management.

Students at The Watford UTC will do nine to five days, will not be required to wear uniform and the school will not have any bells.

June Johnson, whose 14-year-old son, Ben, is one of the new intake this year, said she was very impressed with what the school was offering.

She sadi: "I am really pleased with what I have seen, I am really happy, it looks really good and it is a new start for them."

Another parent, Debbie Pearce, described the new school as "wonderful" and said: "All the students seem really confident.

"I think they will be more confident children going into life because they will have been given more things to do than they would in a normal school."

Staff at the school, which will take students aged between 14 and 18, are emphasising the importance of work experience and pupils will have the opportunity to apply for placements.

Kossar Ashfaq, mother of 14-year-old Faisal, said: "My son came from Watford Grammar School for Boys, he did get a place at Queens’ School but the reason we chose UTC was because Emma came round and personally met Faisal.

"She showed us it was a fantastic venture.

"It was what they were offering that really captured our minds."

A total of 60 per cent of applications at the Colonial Way school will be allocated to prospective students who live within nine miles of the school.

The other 40 per cent will go to applicants who live between nine and 15 miles from the site.

Emma Loveland, principal of the UTC said: "I feel fantastic, I feel like someone has handed me the lottery ticket and I have won.

"That they will fulfil and surpass their potential. We are going to, through an extended day and long school year, we will make fantastic use of our facilities and give our students the best possible experience."

The University of Hertfordshire will be sponsoring the UTC and offering its facilities to students.

The UTC will also be working alongside companies such as The Grove, Hilton Hotels, Toshiba and Twin Technology.