A 106-YEAR-old time capsule has been opened by A-Level history students at Redditch's NEW College.

The exciting find was unearthed last month when the college's Victorian Z Block was demolished to make way for a new sports hall.

The capsule contained copies of the Redditch Indicator and Birmingham Daily Post and Gazette dating back to the late 19th century.

Also among the artefacts were photographs of St Stephen's and St George's churches and Evesham Street, bills, prizes, the last annual report of Smallwood Hospital and specimens of students' carpentry and metalwork.

Student Jo Withers, 17, who opened the capsule, said: "It was an intriguing and interesting experience. "Everyone in the class said they wanted to do a time capsule as well and put it in the new building."

According to a copy of the Redditch Indicator dated Saturday, November 4, 1899, the capsule was buried on November 1, 1899, in what was then the engineering department of the Redditch College Technical School.

Lord Robert George Barron Windsor originally laid the foundation stone and the bottle was deposited by Dr Page, an expert in the history of technical education in Redditch. Lord Windsor hoped the time capsule would not be exposed until "the great scheme of technical education had borne ample fruit, and until the large building about to be erected would require to be removed in order to make room for one still larger and better."

A college spokesman said: "Recent developments at NEW College have allowed Lord Windsor's vision of technical education in the future to come to life with facilities at the Redditch campus now among the best in the UK.

"Developments at the college have seen the removal of Z Block to make way for a much-needed sports hall that will be used by the college's 168 uniformed public services and sports therapy students.

"Currently these groups have to use the local youth centre or travel to the Ryland Centre in Broms-grove for sports practice."