Youngsters from a primary school in southern Oxfordshire left a message for future generations by burying a time capsule at the Wellington Gate development.

To mark the opening of the new site in Wantage, pupils were asked by housebuilder Persimmon Homes to come up with designs for a ‘house of the future’ for future discovery.

20 children from Millbrook Primary School in Grove watched as their drawings were put inside a weatherproof time capsule and buried on site.

They were also given a talk about safety around building sites and how science is used in construction.

Site manager Luke Connolly said: “It is important for us to engage with the communities where we operate, and what better way than by welcoming the pupils of Millbrook Primary to our new development.

“They produced some extremely creative designs with interesting ideas of how new homes may look in the future.

“Who knows, maybe the time capsule will be unearthed one day and people will be able to enjoy the pictures again.”

Hayley Leyshon-Brady, assistant headteacher at the school, said: “We were delighted to be involved with designing a house of the future. The pupils had great fun creating their designs – and a great day out at Wellington Gate too.

“We wanted to get the children thinking all about house building – and perhaps there may even be a budding builder amongst them.”