Pupils place time capsule in one of world’s first T-Pylons 

By Jill Dando News

Pupils have placed a time capsule inside one of the worlds’ first T-pylons near Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset.

It marks the completion of the project to build 48 new pylons for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

Schoolchildren from East Huntspill Academy, near Burnham-On-Sea, have been invited onto the site to add the finishing touch to one of the pylons.

Year 6 pupils placed a time capsule inside the hollow stem of ‘their’ T-pylon, located close to the village.

The contents were created by pupils to mark the historic milestone of the world’s first T-pylons.

The East Huntspill Academy time capsule is one of 20 capsules created by local schools that will be placed inside T-Pylons spanning the 57-kilometre Hinkley Connection Project route.

Steve Davis, Principal of East and West Huntspill Primary Academies, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We’ve really enjoyed working with National Grid and give our students the chance to make their mark on our local history.”

“The time capsule project really captured the whole school’s imagination, and it was so special for our year sixes to be able to get so close to ‘their’ pylon and see the time capsule placed inside – they felt like VIPs.”

Overhead line wires are now in place on the T-pylons for the southern section of the Hinkley Connection project, which runs between Bridgwater and Loxton.

When all 116 T-pylons are completed, they will connect low carbon energy from Hinkley Point C power station to six million homes and businesses across the country, playing a key role in supporting the UK’s net zero ambitions.

After a tour of the pylon, a question-and-answer session, and a peek inside, the children handed over their capsule to National Grid engineer Harriet Dal Din. Rob Stephenson from Balfour Beatty placed it inside, then the hatch was sealed and bolted.

The operational life of T-Pylons, the first new design for pylons for almost a century, is around 70-80 years.

When planning their time capsule, the children wanted young people in the future to understand what life was like for them.

The East Huntspill pupils, ranging in age from 4 to 11 years old, decided to include self-portraits from the younger children and ideas about how the school might have changed and how energy may be used in the future from the older children.

They also included parent letters, photographs, newsletters, maths equipment and a Covid test and mask to demonstrate their unprecedented experience of living through a global pandemic.

Rhiann Emery, Year 6 Teaching Assistant who accompanied the children, adds: “The children loved seeing the pylons up close and were excited to tell the rest of school on their return. There were lots of questions from our budding engineers – all brilliantly answered by the team. We learned so much.”

James Goode, Project Director for National Grid’s Hinkley Connection Project, added: “The Hinkley Connection Project is vital to the UK’s transition to net zero and we want to use it to spark young people’s interest in STEM and even future generations of engineers.”

“We’ve loved seeing what the pupils put in their time capsules and hear their ideas on the way we live and how we use energy will change in their lifetime.”

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