Construction of a £6.3million extension to Marshalls Park Academy has been marked with the burying of a time capsule under what is set to be the school’s new building.

Head boy Harry Harding and head girl Lilly Hadrava had the honour of burying the school's time capsule under the extension site at the school in Pettits Lane.

The students were joined by representatives from the academy, Havering Council, the construction team, Havering's cabinet member for education, children and families, councillor Robert Benham, and contracts manager for Barnes Construction, Mark Whinney.

Headteacher Neil Frost said: "At Marshalls Park we are incredibly excited about the investment in our school and more importantly our community; as such, we felt it would be fitting to mark this occasion by burying a time capsule for future generations to read about life in 2020.

"We have included various items that capture school routines, like timetables, life in modern Britain for young people such as airpods, and pressing global issues, for example, a simple bottle.

"Interestingly, this has led to much speculation about when would be the best time for the capsule to be 'discovered', and how our future generations will view contemporary Britain."

Barnes Construction started work in September on the two-storey extension, which will provide 16 new classrooms, a dance studio and changing facilities.

Designed by KLH Architects, with Superstructures assisting with the structural engineering design, the new accommodation is being built on land that housed the old staff car park.

The extension forms part of Havering's schools expansion programme, which will see the council investing more than £23million into its schools this year in order to accommodate more children, and improve the available facilities.

Cllr Benham added: "The new state-of-the-art buildings will ensure that pupils at Marshalls Park have the most up-to-date equipment and facilities, which will help them to improve their knowledge and learning in a range of subjects.

"The development shows the council's commitment to improving our schools to meet the demands of a growing community, due to regeneration and increased births."