Students and teachers are settling into life at a brand new £25m school which opened in Walthamstow, last week.

The state-of-the-art Willowfield Humanities College has officially relocated to new facility in Blackhorse Road following a council-funded project.

It now has capacity for 900 secondary students – 300 more places than offered at its former site in nearby Clifton Avenue.

“It was wonderful to see that the finished product matched the images in my head,” said headteacher John Hemingway.

“School staff are excited by the potential of teaching in this building and I am certain the children will be excited to be learning here.”

The first of the school’s pupils started on Thursday – getting to see the brand new facilities for the first time.

Willowfield School now boasts a full size sports hall, multi-use games area, dance and drama studios, a performance amphitheatre and a wildlife garden.

One of the most eye-catching features is the entrance bridge at first-floor level, which brings staff, pupils and visitors directly into the heart of the school – a three-storey atrium.

Willowfield’s new assembly hall will double as a performance space with a full audio-visual set up connected to a control balcony.

Cllr Mark Rusling, Waltham Forest council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “This project represents a fantastic boost to education opportunities in the borough, particularly at a time when the Government has made it more difficult for us to provide sufficient school places by banning us from opening new schools.

“Not only has it created hundreds of additional and much-needed secondary school places for Waltham Forest residents, it’s also enhancing our efforts to help give our young people the best possible start in life by delivering first-rate facilities in which to teach.”

The building was constructed by Bouygues UK, who are working on improvements at Leytonstone School on behalf of the council.