Student librarians at the Sir John Colfox Academy in Bridport have been overwhelmed by the generosity of local people, who have bought hundreds of books for their school library.

Young librarians Kitty and Amber launched their 'Buy a Book for our School Library Appeal' last term. They asked Bridport Book Shop to host their 'wish list' of books and hoped that a few people might consider buying them a book - but they didn't expect such a generous response.

Their appeal, which is still running, has so far generated more than £2,000 worth of books for Colfox's library.

Kitty, 15, said: "I'm amazed at how many people have bought us books and supported our appeal – I'd like to thank everyone for their wonderful donations.

"Some young people don't have any books at home, so making sure our school library is full of brilliant books that everyone can borrow to take home and read is more important than ever."

Amber, 16, said: "It has been brilliant when boxes of donated books arrive, we have really enjoyed unpacking them and seeing what people have given us. We also have lots more students volunteering to be librarians now, it was just a few of us before, but now we have nearly 50! We have also been lending out lots more books.

"Thank you to everyone who has supported our appeal and thank you also to the Bridport Book Shop for all their help."

Nicky Mathewson from the Book Shop in South Street, who helped the students launch their appeal, said: "Stepping back in to the Colfox Library has been a delight. The library is well stocked with new releases and some old favourites. The Manga selection is growing but there is still room for more, and I know these are popular with reluctant readers. We are delighted with the generous response from our customers, thank you to everyone who has made a contribution, it has made a real difference."

Adam Shelley, Headteacher of the Sir John Colfox Academy, said: "Bridport is a generous place, and the response to our Student Librarians' Appeal has been fantastic. Thank you to everyone who has kindly bought us a book, I know our students are enjoying them. Reading is a joy, great for wellbeing and it is wonderful that with the support of our community, we have been able to bring the joy of reading to so many more young people."

Thank you also to everyone who has donated high quality second handbooks to Colfox, if anyone has books for young people that are no longer wanted, please drop off to reception – thank you. Thanks also to local authors have supported their appeal by donating their published works.