Children leave their mark on city's history.

SCHOOLCHILDREN have buried a time capsule on the site of Newcastle's new City Library.

The children from Sacred Heart RC Primary School in Fenham chose the contents of the capsule - which include a Newcastle United shirt, a pair of Crocs shoes and a Doctor Who DVD - to show future generations of youngsters what life was like in 2008.

Kevin Foster, headteacher at Sacred Heart, said: "The kids brainstormed the sort of things that are expressive of our culture, as well as things that wouldn't be appropriate, like food. They're thrilled that they've become a part of history."

In addition to the time capsule project, the children have also been involved in choosing furniture for the new library.

City librarian Tony Durcan said: "We're investing in pounds 500,000 worth of new books to build on our existing stock, some of which dates back to 1485. The City Library is going to be the biggest public library between Leeds and Edinburgh."

The library is being built by Japanese construction company Kajima, which recently completed a similar project in Nagasaki, Japan. Because of this link, children and staff from a Nagasaki youth club have sent messages for the capsule.

Council leader John Shipley said: "The children have done a marvellous job in choosing all the mementos for the time capsule.

"It's not just a wonderful way of marking the development of the new City Library, but the preservation of an important piece of Newcastle's social history."