Former Time Team archaeologist Carenza Lewis led students from Soham Village College on a research project designed to spark their enthusiasm in higher education.

Dr Lewis tasked a small group of Year 9 students to complete some archaeological field research in the village of Rampton as part of Cambridge University’s Higher Education Field Academy.

The programme aims to raise the aspirations and enthusiasm of students with regard to higher education by making a contribution to current academic research at the University of Cambridge.

Soham Village College teacher, Joshua Blunt, said: “We are delighted that, once again, the research has been such a success. Adult supervisors were incredibly impressed with the dedication and maturity with which our students met the challenges presented by genuine archaeological research.”

Students were required to create a written report analysing their findings and what they reveal about the area.

The reports were formally marked by staff at the University of Cambridge and graded to GCSE standard across a wide range of skills.

Soham Village College students were very successful with almost all students achieving A* or A grades.

Mr Blunt said “It is a stunning achievement. All of our participating students are in Year 9 so for them to produce such a professional and high-quality report, requiring such a diverse range of skills, shows exactly how high their aspirations for the future should be.”