to think all UK schools would be better off being Chalet Schools?

[quirrelquarrel]

French, German, English days- hikes up the hills- Kaffe und Küchen- Prees and Joeys and Mary Lous rounding up the miscreants.....would it be impossible, do you think?

Wonder if there is a school like this left!

Is that a superfluous umlaut there? Oh well. Back to the books!

I'm here if you require a headmistress.

Don't think I could put up with Mary Lou though - what a pain!

:o

But she was always your favourite!
Did she turn your hair white....again?

It was Miss Wilson whose hair turned white when they escaped from Austria.

I always suspected MissA got pretty fed up with Mary Lou. She was such a goody two shoes.

Not that I've read them a lot or anything...

Oh yes, that's right. Am rooting them all out to see what I've got.

Yes, indeed! The only time she ever got into trouble....for doing too much Maths.

I remember that. It was when she and Clem Barrass (sp?) were first boarding they were staying up late swotting and ended up sleep walking.

Bloody typical Mary Lou. Even when she was bad she was good.

Totally agree.

A emphasis on health - lots of fresh air, walks, lots of milk, regulated bedtimes and rising times. Enforced afternoon rests

Lots of craft and reading. Everyone expected to be able to cook and garden.

Older children strongly encouraged to take responsiblity for the younger ones.

Great language skills and high academic standards

But they would get hammered on the Health and Safety front though - imagine the accident book !

Enforced afternoon rest sounds good to me.

Ohhh, I was desperate to go to the Chalet School - all those adventurous-but-oddly-frail girls, such larks! I had such a pash on Jo .

for once I'd quite like a 'like' button.

I wanted to be Jo. It wasn't until I was older that other characters began to appeal to me.
I just think they were the most amazing books. They made me want to read more and travel and learn languages.
Just fantastic.

There is a school in London which has an annex in Switzerland and a uniform which includes rust coloured knickerbockers (is that near enoug to flame?)

Wow, knickerbockers! When on earth do they wear them Edith?

But all those frail types going down with TB whenever they stood in a draft would be REALLY annoying. And the welfare state couldn't stand the ensuing population explosion as all the gals got married to Dr's and knocked out sets of triplets at home. And there wouldn't be enough Dr's to go round in the general population of the UK for the marrying/TB curing duties.

Wouldn't want to end up like Eustacia though. Poor thing.

Totally agree CMOT!

The Chalet School Accident Book (1926-1972) (I might be wrong with dates) (these are all I can remember but I know there are more)

Fell in icy lake, nearly died
Fell in cave, concussed, only just avoided god knows what from a lunatic (I use the word in the 1930s sense)
Fell in raging torrent stream, hanging onto frail child, nearly died
Ate raw bacon at midnight feast, didn't nearly die but was sick as parrot
Stood at door for 2 minutes, nearly died (LOL Alistron)
Ran away due to total alienation from the CS regime and girls, stuck in mountain "cleft", nearly died, in wheelchair for 3 years or something
Chased through Innsbruck by Nazis...oh wait, actually that probably wasn't the schools fault....
Ran off and climbed a cliff on an island, nearly died
Acid squirted in face by an AMERICAN (that lot! tchoh!), sight will never be quite right in one eye

Oh and the best one EVER...
Teacher lighting fag threw match at pupil, went up in flames, nearly died, permanent injury to right hand, piano playing impaired for life!!!!!

But wasn't Lace set in a chalet school?

< missAnnersley: it's a standard option in the uniform, for both boys and girls, and can be worn by any child all day any day. Corduroy in winter, cotton in summer.>

I don't remember the acid squirting! What happened there? Spoilers, please!

I remember the icy lake one, that was fraught. And then Jo was saved (sort of) by the Robin's singing. And I was SO jealous when as prefects (head prefects? whatever it was) they got their own beautiful rooms in the new building. The description made it all sound so lovely.

Sticky

YY to the standing in the draft thing old bean. Not tophole.

Yes Holmes but like all good Chalet girls, Eustacia Learned Her Lesson!

Holmes that's the one with the new Matron isn't it, and the kerfuffle about not being allowed to read in bed - previously OK as long as you wore a bed jacket and didn't read lying down. I actually asked for a bed jacket for Christmas. DM was all

And what in the name of the Tyrol is wrong with reading lying down anyway?

And Jo saved Maria Marani with her singing after Herr Marani died.

I also think she saved Corney in a similar fashion.

Reading lying down is like brushing one's hair in public. Not the Done Thing.