THE DISCOVERY of a 114-year-old time capsule found in the rubble of a demolished school has captured the imagination of its students.

Builders discovered the hidden treasure in the brick work of George Mitchell School, in Farmer Road, Leyton, last month.

After taking advice from historians, the school opened the capsule this week and found newspapers and a memorial programme.

According to the programme, dignitaries from the Leyton School Board, Works Committee and Church were in attendance at the ceremony back in March 24, 1903

Current pupils are already planning to bury a capsule of their own within the new £16million school building, currently under construction.

The 1902 capsule will take pride if place in the reception of the new school.

Pupil Romario Steele-Richardson, 16, from Chingford, said: "It was really exciting to be part of such a historic moment.

“I kept thinking about the people who buried it and whether they wondered who would open it.

“Knowing I was part of that was quite special.

"We all thought there might be letters from students in there but it wasn't to be.

“It has given us some ideas though for our time capsule.

"We want the people who open ours to know a little bit about us as people so we are going to bury pictures and letters in ours."

The Victorian secondary school building is being demolished to make way for a facility set over floors, featuring a drama studio, computer suite and sports hall.

The primary building, built in the 1960s, is also being replaced.

Headteacher Saeed Hussain said: "There has been a lot of interest in this locally so we wanted to make sure our students could share in the moment.

"Our old school has some wonderful memories, not just for the current crop of pupils but for all who have passed through its walls.

"It is now time to create some new memories in our brand new state-of -the-art school building, where, buried deep, many years into the future a new generation of students will find our very own time capsule."