The chalet school and ofsted?

[thebody]

Aibu to wonder what Ofsted would have made of the Chalet school.? Any fellow chaletians around?

Jem and Miss Wilson have an exchange about the hair. 'Poor Nell' he says 'Never mind, the Poudre effect is quite becoming' 'Oh as if it mattered' said Miss Wilson giving him a queer look - or words to that effect. My 'Exile' is on a high shelf.

Hollie - there is a hint in The Chalet School in the Oberland that Peggy at least does have some difficult feelings about her parents absence (which of course was prolonged by the way - no tripping about for 6 month furlough then). When Molly is ill EBD writes something like 'And we've had so little of her' thought poor Peggy 'Rix and Bride and Jackie and I. All those years that she and dad and the twins were in India. It's really only these last four years'
How sad is that!

By the way? SHould be by the WAR

Oh right. Dr Jem and Miss Wilson. I thought it was Jack.

I think it might have been an article in one of the focs magazines. I used to subscribe to it but you could also read them online.

I think all the online articles have been taken down unfortunately which is a shame because some of them were really good.

Miss Annersley and Miss Wilson must have been an item! Remember the accident where Miss Annersley nearly dies and Joey recalled Miss Wilson to handle the awful Miss Bubb? Miss Wilson tells Joey how much Miss Annersley means to her. I remember reading that as a teenager and thinking hmmmm.....

Oh yes! 'Hilda and I are both lonely people and we mean a lot to each other.......' (!)

I loved the Abbey School more than the Chalet School. It would have had poor ofsteds in h+ s too, midnight rambles in ruins. Poor sport, only country dancing, bit good music, d+ t a bit limited.

Finding staff who could speak three languages not hard then. Middle class girls were taught French and German automatically, prob by governesses. And because of WW1 they wouldn't have married. And would have to support themselves. Maths teaching a bit more problematic but not much.

I too love Antonia Forrest, Thalianotfailure. She is so witty. Natch. Just saying. And knowledgeable. Have never liked the Brontes so much since was it Karen did that devastating job on them in Peter's room. Put me off Emily for ever " when she wants you to think badly of someone she makes them drown puppies" of similar. And I had never realised until then how far Emily was on the spectrum.. Seriously, gondal.

That school would have come out well academically in everything unless Lois had written a bitchy whistle blowing letter.

I didn't like Malory Towers so much. I found Darrell boring ditto her mother's sensible shoes.

I do think there was quite a lot of simmering non-heterosexuality in the Chalet School. Not only Miss Annersley and Miss Wilson, but the magnificently named Tom Gay and, later, Jack Lambert.

Also, Miss Ferrars and Miss Wilmot, who seemed to be the absolute favourite pair for slash fiction on the Chalet School talk board I used to read.

Also on the Abbey School despite the.twin.syndrome.

I feel compelled to post for the first time ever on mn to admit that when I was 8 I had a notebook that I completed with lists of head girls, family trees and even head shot sketches of each head girl perhaps I should go and join that forum!

I haven't read the books again since then but will definitely be digging them out again, I don't think I ever got any of the later ones.

Like a pp I too was determined to have triplets or at least a couple of sets of twins after reading

Pixielady EBD could have done with doing that. then maybe she wouldn't have made so many mistakes.

Isn't Pixie a name in the Abbey series?

I don't know the Abbey series (although looking them up after this) my pixie is just a nickname DH gave me due to my diminutive stature and I haven't thought of a good mn nickname yet

Totally inspired to use chalet school as baby name inspiration after this thread though!

Oooh, a baby name party. Definitely go for Malvina

Something reminded me of the baby name party just a couple of days ago. Which book was it in? I think it's one of the early ones. And which cherub is it who suggests that the baby should be called 'Wufus'? A fine name for a baby.

I love the early Abbey books, up to about Abbey Girls Go Back to School. The later ones get a bit tedious, I think, but I love the ones where the original generation are still young. And for simmering non-heterosexuality there's the married coupledom of Jen and Jack - not to mention all the late night 'coffee-drinking', ahem, in and out of each others bedrooms. I feel a bout of Goddesses coming on... I will not have those crossings skipped...

It was Chalet School and the Lintons, clarinet. I read it yesterday morning before I got up.

Some excellent suggestions were made - Evangeline, Angel, Rufus, Tibby, Honor, Malvina, Elisaveta, Otillie!! If only I had reread that book before I had DD, Otillie Tibby Evangeline would have had a fine ring to it!

Astrid is a CS name I've always fancied using pixie

Otillie was on my short list for DD2, I also had a boss called Malvina in my first Saturday job .

I was very taken with the name Phoebe when I first read Jo to the Rescue. Only trouble was, I thought it was pronounced 'Fweb'.

Oh - Rosetta! The baddie in Jo's first book! I think I've found the next DD's name!

Loving this thread, hankering after a like button. Favourite book has to be Exile, definite lack of risk assessments there...

Having just read Wrong Chalet School, I have to agree about Miss Annersley and Miss Wilson - several "my dear"s, and worrying about each other, and so on. Plus Miss Wilson going to stay with her during Mystery at the Chalet School!

By the way, I was just checking - between myself and the lovely people who sent me copies, we have ebooks of 29 out of the 58 in the series! Here's a GoogleDoc list, with the ones I have / was sent crossed out. Pretty good :)

ooooooh, I have the Chalet Girls Cookbook (which I'd totally forgotten about), in hardback, and there's a copy on ebay for £105 . I bought it for £5 a few years back.

I do think there was quite a lot of simmering non-heterosexuality in the Chalet School. Not only Miss Annersley and Miss Wilson, but the magnificently named Tom Gay and, later, Jack Lambert.

Yebbut you just know Tom and Jack were saved by the love of two good doctors and went on to have 15 children each.

Tom went to be a missionary (in Africa?) working with boys I think, so not saved by a doctor . Don't know if we find out what happened to Jack, my knowledge of the later books isn't as good

Tom was a missionary in London Bet she married a minister though in the end. Jack's still at school at the end.

Malorie Blackman article in the Guardian says she used to read the CS books!