Representatives from the Academy School buried the time capsule with housebuilder Metis Homes at the adjacent Forest Edge residential scheme.
The children and teaching staff at the school - which has local pupils aged 11 – 18 came up with creative suggestions of items to put into the time capsule. The contents include the whole school 2023 photo; various Burgate School badges that represent the House system and Eco club; a school tie; a copy of the Burgate Expectations; a personal message from one of the School’s Ukrainian students; the official recipe for Coronation Quiche; a Coronation Day newspaper; a 2023 commemorative coin of King Charles III; an empty bottle of Prime – depicting the recent craze for the energy drink; and some sweets.
The time capsule has been buried in an area of Forest Edge’s landscaped Public Open Space, located off Salisbury Road. Local housebuilder Metis Homes is currently constructing 63 premium homes with traditional architecture and red brick elevations that are inspired by the local vernacular. The new £21.5m development is surrounded by mature trees and an abundance of green open spaces, including two play areas and a purpose designed dog agility course. Footpaths leading to inspiring New Forest walks can be joined right from the development boundary.
David Pover, Headteacher at The Burgate School and Sixth Form, buried the time capsule over one metre underground with Year Eight pupils.
David Pover said: “Projects like this are a fantastic way for our whole school community to unite and think about what aspects of life in the present day would be of interest to future generations. It was also a great experience to come to the Forest Edge development site to bury the time capsule, with pupils getting stuck in with relaying topsoil. Seeing a busy development site in action and quizzing the Metis Homes team has even inspired some of the children to think about a career in construction.
“It has been a wonderful and prestigious project for the whole school community, and I am grateful to Metis Homes for working with us on this opportunity, and also for contributing funds to redecorate our sixth form history classroom.”
David Oakley, Sales and Marketing Director for Metis Homes, said: “It is a pleasure to work with the local school in this collaborative way. We are so pleased with the thoughtful and considered way the students conducted themselves on site and engaged with us. It has been great to hear about the contents of the time capsule and the reasons why they were chosen. Having the time capsule buried here creates a fascinating story that can be re-told to future generations.”
Located on the outskirts of the picturesque riverside town, at the northern gateway to the New Forest, over 40% of the Forest Edge homes have already been sold off plan. A range of two-bedroom apartments, priced from £300,000, and four-bedroom detached family homes priced from £610,000, are currently on release, in advance of build completion dates scheduled for autumn 2023. A three-bedroom show home is now open daily, and a selection of phase two homes are also released for sale.
The 63 homes at Forest Edge are designed to achieve an EPC rating of B, with benefits including electric vehicle charging points, high levels of insulation and thermal efficiency, and the opportunity to access green mortgages offering more favourable rates. The four-bedroom houses have the added benefit of solar PV panels, which will enable the future residents to generate a proportion of their own electricity use, significantly lowering their carbon footprint.
Metis Homes was recently awarded the Gold Award for Customer Satisfaction by In-house Research for the seventh time, and ranked ‘Number One Housebuilder for Customer recommendations’, from 94 national entrants. To coincide with the 2023 In-house awards success, Metis Homes has also been given a HCS Safety Forum Award for outstanding work and receiving 100% on its annual safety audit.
Forest Edge is located off Salisbury Road in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, SP6 1LX. A new show home is open to view seven days a week from 10am – 4pm. To book an appointment and find out more about Forest Edge, visit https://forestedge.metishomes.co.uk/