CELEBRATIONS to mark the 50th anniversary of the University of Bradford receiving its Royal Charter are being held at City Hall tomorrow.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Geoff Reid, schools, community groups and the University’s partners will be attending the event where they can contribute to the University’s anniversary time capsule.

Councillor Reid will host the reception and Bradford Council’s chief executive, Kersten England, will present an item for the time capsule on behalf of the city.

Artwork on the theme of education made by children from Killinghall Primary School will be on display and the winners of a city-wide schools creative writing competition, where children were asked to describe a day in their lives in 25 years time, will be announced, and have their entries placed in the time capsule.

The capsule will be officially sealed at a special event at the university on Tuesday, October 18, the 50th anniversary of it receiving its charter.

University vice-chancellor Professor Brian Cantor said the university could look back on its 50th year with “great pride and satisfaction”.

“We have continued to climb in many league tables, reflecting the high quality of our courses and our teaching,” he added.

“Our world-leading research continues to generate global headlines; we received a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for our pioneering work on dementia and we recently hosted the the first World Technology Universities Congress.

“We have, within 50 years, established Bradford as one of the leading technology universities.

“In that time we have sent out 125,000 graduates who are making a difference to the world at all levels.

“This is a great achievement of which we are immensely proud and we will continue to develop the University of Bradford as one of the UK’s, and the world’s, great centres of learning and research.”

The event follows the opening of the 25th anniversary time capsule in April this year, which contained a pipe belonging to former Prime Minister and the University’s first Chancellor, Harold Wilson, and a copy of the Telegraph & Argus from 1991.

Staff and students have been submitting ideas for items to go into the 50th anniversary capsule, which will also include items from the 25th anniversary capsule.