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Newbury College Celebrates the Past by Looking to the Future
Created on 24.6.2009
Newbury College staff and students made history last week as they buried a time capsule at the Monks Lane campus to celebrate the 60th academic year of training and education.
A crowd eagerly watched performing art students Liam Lockhart and Andrew Grieve carefully lower the time capsule into the hole whilst Newbury College Principal, Anne Murdoch, gave a short speech about the poignant event.
Anne commented, “Everyone is very excited about leaving a piece of Newbury College for future generations. The college hopes that the time capsule finders will make interesting comparisons with the contents in years to come, particularly of any educational or technological advances that may occur”.
The time capsule was chosen to document how the college operates today and incorporated artifacts from all departments to clearly portray Newbury College life. Pieces included a letter to the future from the Principal and a guide of futuristic course predictions such as ‘growing the best fruit and vegetables on your moon allotment’ and ‘the art of meditation’. The current full and part time prospectuses were also included, alongside various material and salon price-lists for comparison, hollyhock seeds from the horticulture gardens and a piece of clay artwork.
Anne added, “This project has seen all departments working well together and using their individual skills to achieve a lasting memento. The engineering students have been particularly helpful by insulating the capsule and ensuring the lid is soldered correctly to guarantee all the artifacts are preserved.”
The capsule was made of lead, which is recommended by metallurgists and conservationists for its resistance to corrosion and contents has even been found in remarkable condition from the Roman times buried in this. A plaque to mark the burial position has also been produced and the suggested date of opening has been left unspecified, so hopefully it will be at least another 60 years until it surfaces again!
Newbury College have subsequently registered the time capsule with the International Time Capsule Society (ITCS) in Atlanta USA. This organisation documents all types of time capsules throughout the world and will make sure that it will not be forgotten in years to come!
Newbury College was opened in the academic year of 1948/49 and was originally called the Institute of Further Education. In 1951, it became the South Berkshire College of Further Education with a Principal as Senior Executive. In 1975 the College was renamed again to become Newbury College, the name which remains to this day.