An archive for the future has been created by Hardenhuish School in Chippenham to show future generations what life was like in 2008.

The archive box will be presented by the students and their teacher, David Clarke to Tom Craig, the manager of the new Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, on Wednesday, 2 July.

The class had collected the archive for the future during the autumn and spring terms. It includes individual diaries and autobiographies, as well as press cuttings, maps and their school timetable.

Schools from across Wiltshire and Swindon were invited to submit archives to history centre that is jointly run by Wiltshire County Council and Swindon Borough Council to helping people to discover, participate and contribute to local history.

It will join six other archives for the future time capsule boxes prepared by other Wiltshire and Swindon schools, all aimed at showing historians in the future what life was like at the beginning of this century. Ridgeway, Sutton Veny, Orchard Vale, St George's and Matravers schools have already presented their archives to the centre and pupils from Greentrees Primary School in Salisbury will present their archive to the centre on Friday, July 11.

When at the centre, the Hardenhuish students will take the opportunity to find out exactly how archives are collected, catalogued, protected, preserved and used at the new Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre.

They will also check out the oldest archive in the collection, Norman charters that established Stanley Abbey, see original documents from the Black Death, and pinpoint their nearest archaeological site, the remains of a Saxon village "Heregeredinge Hiwisce", from around AD 854.

The archive for the future boxes will join over 28,000 other boxes of unique historic records at the centre, which trace the history of Wiltshire and Swindon, and go back to Norman times. The centre is open from 9.30am to 5.30pm from Tuesday to Saturday, and is based next to Chippenham Railway Station.

David Clarke from Hardenhuish School said: "It is a fantastic opportunity for our students to find out about their archive for the future and the work of the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, especially seeing the original documents and archaeological evidence from their local area."

Tom Craig, history centre manager, said: "We are delighted these schools have produced these wonderful snapshots of life in Wiltshire as seen by young people. they will provide a fascinating insight into everyday life for generations to come."