MORE than a thousand students at one school rallied round to make hampers for a foodbank.

The 1,500 Year 7-11 students at Huntington School took part in a non-uniform food drive on Friday (December 3) to collect food and gifts.

York Foodbank are collecting the items when they will be sorted and distributed across the city.

Emma Townsend, head of Year 7, said: "Year 7 were so generous with their donations to the York foodbank, and loved being able to help others in the community. They have been thinking carefully over the last few weeks about how they can show kindness over the Christmas period, and they’ve really gone above and beyond."

Kate Potts assistant head, said: "It was so heart-warming to see the generosity of our students and their families this morning. We were overflowing with so many kind donations that we needed an army of helpers to move it all over to our collection point."

Paula Edwards, PA to the senior leadership team, said: "When York Foodbank dropped off 20 crates for us to collect the food in I thought that would be more than enough – how wrong I was.

"I am overwhelmed by the donations received, with every one of our students wanting to give something to make Christmas a little brighter for others this year."