SIXTH formers from a Watford school got to grips with two of the town's parliamentary candidates this week, quizzing them on their views on a host of issues from Polish immigration to university tuition fees.

Watford's Liberal Democrat candidate Sal Brinton and the town's Conservative representative, Ian Oakley, answered questions from students at Francis Combe School on Wednesday afternoon.

The question and answer session stuck to the subject of why students have to pay tuition fees for their university education.

However, at the end of the debate students got the chance to quiz the town's would-be MPs on other issues. Ms Brinton talked to the students about the possibilities of undertaking foundation degrees, which allow students to stay at home and avoid racking up debts of £15,000 or more.

She also spoke about the benefits of a mentoring system to help students decide their career paths but did, however, express her concern at the increasing costs of a university education.

She said: "When I was your age, only 15 per cent of university places were for women because so many were just for men.

"Now it is about your family background and if you don't come from a family with a background of people going to university you are less likely to go - and that is really worrying."

Responding to a question about the "dumbing down" of higher education with the increasing number of degrees, particularly on diverse subjects, Mr Oakley said he felt there needed to be "quality control".

He said: "I do not think it is about the diversity of degrees, it is about quality control, it is about those degrees being good.

"But if you look at almost every walk of life , having a degree is becoming more and more necessary."

Asked about the influx of Eastern European, and particularly Polish, workers Ms Briton said she welcomed migrant workers and felt the country could not now manage without them.

"Sadly at the moment that is not what a lot of people think but every time you go to hospital and you are seen by someone who is not British, it is because that person has come here and is now helping us," she said.

Ms Brinton also said she would support the lowering of the voting age to 16.

The afternoon was organised by Michal Siewniak, a history teacher from Poland, who is working at Francis Combe as a language interpreter.

He said the idea came about during a weekly debating club he runs for sixth formers.

"We organised today to give the students a chance to think and discuss issues that are related to them.

"The response from the students was great."