SCHOOLCHILDREN yesterday put a piece of history in a time capsule which will be opened in 2020.

Sixth class students from the Loreto National School in Rathfarnham, Dublin, and the Loreto Grammar School, in Omagh, Co Tyrone, filled a time capsule with newspapers and artefacts from the 20th century and wrote about their visions of the 21st century. The President, Mrs Robinson, attended the ceremony at the Dublin school.

The schools are among 2,000 in Ireland and the UK taking part in the 20-20 Vision programme, aimed at a better understanding of the environment. In Ireland, almost 500 schools are involved.

To draw up their visions of the future, many pupils researched in libraries, while others consulted policy makers or interviewed their parents or grandparents. The students had to draw material from the 1970s and compare it with the lifestyles and habits of the 1990s.

The capsules will be opened on 20/02/2020 and everyone involved can dig up their capsule to see if their vision of the future has come true. Every school in the project receives a certificate of participation.