Tottenham Hotspur and England footballer Andros Townsend met prospective students of a new technical college this afternoon and says the set-up offers “unbelievable” opportunities to young people in the area.

The winger attended the latest recruitment drive at White Hart Lane by the Tottenham University Technical College (UTC), which is supported by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.

Townsend, 22, met with four of the college’s seven student ambassadors, who have been hand-picked to support their fellow pupils when the college opens

The UTC, which will provide vocational training with a strict smart dress code and business-like hours of 8.30am to 5.15pm, will be located above the recently-opened Sainsbury’s supermarket and below the offices of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy when it opens in September.

Townsend said: “It get’s young local people together in education and gives them a real prospect of a full time job at the end of the day.

“The sports department will be working with the sort of technology footballers use on a daily basis – things like jump mats and the monitoring equipment.

“It is unbelievable for the kids to have this opportunity and from speaking to them it sounds as though they are looking forward to it.

“We’re building the new stadium here so it’s good to get involved in this and build futures for people around here. These kids are the future and it’s good for a club like Tottenham to be supporting them.”

Further open days will be held in May and June, and the college has already had applications from 88 prospective students – meaning it is on target to achieve its minimum of 96 before the end-of-summer deadline.

Student ambassadors Jack Enright, 13, Jessica Wilson, 14, Ryan Button, 16, and Naomi Davis, 16, showed international midfielder Townsend around a series of workshops this afternoon to demonstrate the kind of work they will be doing when the college opens.

Jessica, who plays for Leyton Orient’s youth team and wants to get a job in sport one day, said: “I’m really looking forward to using the sports facilities – they look really professional and like nothing you’d get at other schools. It’s a good opportunity to learn more about the sports I love.”