BOOKSworth £25,000 are arriving at Queen Elizabeth School, Kirkby Lonsdale,today, courtesy of an old pupil.

Commercial manager of London-basedGee Publishing, Martin Smith, 30, remembered his old school when thecompany decided hand out publications valued at £140,000.

He leftQES in 1987, but was looking forward to returning with his precious cargo,explaining it was a brilliant opportunity to give somethingback.

The marketing and business titles would be particularly usefulfor GCSE and A level students, he said.

Gee has been a publisher forbusiness and the professions since 1874 and in 1980 became part of TheThomson Corporation. With a $5.7 billion turnover, it is a leading globalorganisation, with a major investment programme in new informationtechnology.

Mr Smith said most business students would come intocontact with Gee material in their working lives and the book donationswere seen as an investment in the future of British business.

Hisfamily has lived in Kirkby Lonsdale for over 35 years, where his latefather Bill Smith was policeman. Married to another ex-QES pupil JustineKemp, Mr Smith lives in London with his wife and two-year-old sonJames.

QES library manager Deborah Hartwell said the donation wasparticularly welcome as the school was trying to increase its stock ofbooks through its initiative Library 2000.

Two jumble sales havebeen held for the project, along with a book fair, which was attended bychildren's author Jenni Howker.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.