A group of A Level History students from a Droitwich school switched off their online search engines for a day to see whether The Hive in Worcester could offer a better research tool.

The students from Droitwich High School and Sixth Form Centre were encouraged to look beyond the current ethos of 'just google it' to see whether libraries could offer a richer and more personal research tool for their A levels

13 budding historians visited The Hive to improve their research skills and work on their dissertations.

They spent two hours with the community liaison librarian Miss Natasha Skeen who helped teach the students about research methods and techniques, Boolian logic, using journals, working beyond books, checking credibility, how to reference, what questions to ask and how to check keywords.

Mark Drew, assistant head of history, who led the trip said: "The students were actively engaged and enthusiastic towards all the activities prepared for them and asked probing and searching questions throughout the tour of the facilities, even taking time to register with the library so they could access the university databases and academic journals in the weeks to come."

Mr Drew praised the youngsters for the way they conducted themselves during the trip and gave a special mention to pupils James Alldred and Reggie Robinson for their positive attitudes.

History teacher Jay DaCosta added: "As the school’s extended project qualification co-ordinator this link has fantastic potential for helping students research their work and prepare for higher education and we look forward to developing this invaluable relationship with the university, its staff and excellent academic facilities."