Pupils will be digging into the past in a heritage project run by West Yorkshire Joint Services.

The My Place Project, a two year initiative funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and supported by Bradford Council and Museums, will work with 20 schools in Bradford and Keighley.

The project includes geophysics sessions and looks at how machines archaeologists use record small changes in the soil’s magnetism. This can be used to map what lies beneath the grounds of Bolling Hall in Bradford and Cliffe Castle in Keighley.

Workshops will take place in April and archaeological excavations in June.

Chief officer of West Yorkshire Joint Services Graham Hebblethwaite said: “The My Place initiative uses archaeology and other practical activities to ignite the interest of young people in their surroundings and the heritage of their local community.”

Councillor Val Slater, chairman of the Archives, Archaeology and Trading Standards Committee said: “This project gives young people from different communities the opportunity to participate in activities that bring history to life and to get together to learn about the past.”