New Faces at Malory Towers Trivia Quiz

Answer: First Term at Malory Towers

Darrell is the main character in the novels. In the first book she is 12 and going to Malory Towers for the first time. The story starts with her boarding a train for the school which is located in Cornwall, England.

She is mostly a kind girl, sunny natured, responsible and hardworking but she has one bad trait - her famous bad temper. She gets angry easily and can be very rude when pushed; she even slaps Gwendoline in this first novel and pushes Sally over a chair! She gradually learns to control her temper throughout the 6 years she is at the school.

Darrel is also very good at sports especially lacrosse, tennis, swimming and diving. In the fifth form she becomes the games captain.

In "In the Fifth at Malory Towers" she was also the author of the entire pantomime that the class performs. She is head girl of the fourth form and finally becomes head girl of the whole school in the last book.

She is originally good friends with Alicia Johns, a very smart, lively girl with a sharp tongue but eventually becomes best friends with Sally Hope. She also helps Mary-Lou Linnet, a scared young girl who is frightened of everything, to overcome some fears and Mary-Lou idolises Darrell because of it.

Answer: First Term at Malory Towers

Sally is also 12 in this first form at the school. She is initially very sulky and rude and keeps to herself. Later Darrell finds out that Sally's mother has recently had another baby and Sally is jealous and upset because it is getting all the attention and believes she was sent away to school because her parents don't want her any more.

Darrell helps her to understand that younger sisters are great fun to have around and the pair become the best of friends. Jealousy remains her worst fault throughout the series but she is generally a very loyal, hardworking responsible girl.

Sally is also good at sports, particularly lacrosse and she becomes the school games captain in the sixth form. She is also head girl in their second year.

Answer: First Term at Malory Towers

Gwendoline was the third new girl in the first year and one of the main antagonists. Gwen has been bought up at home by a doting mother and governess who have made her believe she is beautiful and special; because of this, she is extremely vain and shallow. Her father is the only one in the family who is sensible enough to see how bad this is for her and sends her to school to try and correct these faults.

She is also described as selfish, deceitful and lazy, and is not good at academics or sports, but she can be very clever and cunning when she wants something.

Gwen attaches herself to any girl in the school who she thinks is rich, glamorous or gifted in some way but will drop them very quickly if she believes they have fallen from their pedestal.

She is the only person that never grows in character throughout the books although she has a bout of conscience that may turn her life around after she drives her father to death's door with her selfish behaviour in the last book. Her father lives but is an invalid, which leaves all Gwen's big dreams unreachable.

Answer: Second Form at Malory Towers

Belinda is one of Blyton's favourite type of female school characters, the lovable scatterbrain who is a genius in some area. With Belinda it is art: she has a great gift for drawing in particular, and entertains the girls with caricature sketches of the teachers and follows Gwen around to get pictures for her 'scowling' book.

Belinda becomes good friends with Irene Edwards, a girl we meet in the first form, who has exactly the same personality type but is a genius in maths and music.

Answer: Second Form at Malory Towers

Ellen comes from a poor family and has worked hard all throughout her holidays to win a scholarship to Malory Towers. What she doesn't realise is that she has put herself under so much stress for so long that she is exhausted and her brain is not working at its normal capacity. This also makes her short and snappy with the other girls.

She worries herself sick that her work is not as good as it should be and stresses about being able to pass the end of term exam. She decides to try and cheat but is caught by Darrell in the middle of the night looking at the papers, and Darrell lashes out at her with her famous temper.

Ellen ends up in the school sanatorium with a massive headache, but that makes her worry more about missing work, so she doesn't get better. Darrell thinks she has left school so doesn't tell anyone about the cheating until she realises Ellen is still in the school and making herself sick.

Darrell talks to the headmistress who sorts everything out. Ellen is sent home for a good rest and doesn't have to take the test. By the next novel she has moved up a form.

Answer: Second Form at Malory Towers

Daphne is described as very beautiful with a charming smile. She finds it easy to get around most people by using a combination of both. She tells the girls about her millionaire father and her fancy cars and yachts, and Gwendoline becomes her 'best friend'. Surprisingly, young Mary-Lou also falls for her charm and Daphne makes 'friends' with her as she needs help with her schoolwork and Mary-Lou is happy to help.

One dark stormy evening Mary-Lou leaves to post a parcel for Daphne and doesn't return. Luckily Gwen saw her go and tells Daphne who rushes out and finds that Mary-Lou has fallen over the edge of a cliff. Daphne holds onto her over the edge until Gwen is smart enough to tell someone else and they rush out to find them.

The next day a couple of the girls go out to find the parcel and find it wet and open and full of empty purses and jewellery that had been going missing that term. It turns out that Daphne is not rich and has been expelled from two schools for stealing in the past.

Gwen immediately drops her in disgust, but Mary-Lou stands up for her and, because of her heroism in saving Mary-Lou, the girls agree to give her another chance. Mary-Lou and the reformed Daphne remain good friends for the rest of the series.

Answer: Third Year at Malory Towers

Zerelda is the first new girl we meet as Darrell's parents pick her up and drive her down to the school with them. She is an American girl who insists on a fancy hairstyle and makeup and has a marked American drawl which the girls pick on.

She is originally put into the fourth form, but her work is not up to standard, so she is put back to the third form, much to her horror. She is described as being a snob and thinking she is a wonderful actress, but is also good-natured and kind.

As such she is immediately picked as Gwen's new friend for the book until she is humiliated by the drama teacher and told she cannot act. Zerelda shows surprising strength of character by becoming 'just a schoolgirl'.

Answer: Third Year at Malory Towers

Mavis is the only main girl in the book who isn't given a last name. She is also unusual in that she arrived at the school the term before this book is set, so she is already known to the girls. She is not well liked, as she is an egotistical girl who is forever boasting about the wonderful voice that she has.

She sneaks out of school one night to perform in a local talent show but gets caught in the rain and loses her voice. She also becomes a much nicer girl after this and is helped along by a friendship with Zerelda.

She recovers her voice by the fifth form pantomime and plays the lead role but is a well-rounded character by this time and not just 'the voice.'

Answer: Third Year at Malory Towers

Bill, as she likes to be called, turns up to school on horseback with her seven brothers. She has bought her horse, Thunder, to school with her and is totally horse mad.

She is a nice, friendly girl, who gets on with most of the girls but isn't interested in her schoolwork and doesn't pay attention to the teachers. She is eventually forbidden to see Thunder by the form teacher Miss Peters until she becomes more attentive.

Bill ignores this order but gets caught out when Thunder gets colic one night and Darrell tells Miss Peters, who becomes the heroine who saves the horse. Of course, after this Bill is indebted to her and begins to pay attention and learn in class.

Answer: Upper Fourth at Malory Towers

Clarissa arrives a bit late for the term, which enables Gwen to see a letter addressed to 'The Honourable Clarissa Carter' which leads to her becoming immediate friends with her when she turns up. The other girls attempt to intervene, but Gwen has told Clarissa all the bad stories she can about them all, so they are left together.

She is a very kind but meek, shy girl who has a weak heart, which leads to Gwen pretending to have one to try to get out of the major Upper Fourth Exam which is looming.

Ultimately she goes on half term break with Gwen and realises how much she lies, so doesn't believe her about the other stories she's told either. Bill finds her upset and suggests going for a horse ride. Shed finds out that Clarissa is a great rider who has her own horse, and the two become firm friends for the rest of the series.

Answer: Upper Fourth at Malory Towers

June is Alicia's young cousin, who arrives in the first form. She is described as brash and bold, with all of Alicia's faults but none of her good points. She is rude and talks back to the fourth formers, who decide that she needs to be taught her place which leads to her informing on the Upper Fourth having had a midnight feast. Darrell famously loses her temper with her and loses her position as head of the class because of it.

Answer: Upper Fourth at Malory Towers

Darrell's younger sister Felicity arrives at Malory Towers in the first term this year as well, and Darrell is overjoyed to be able to show her the ropes, only to find out that she has gone off with June to see them all.

Felicity is a very popular girl and is good at her lessons and sport but refuses to give June up as a friend until June makes Darrell lose her position and gloats about it, forgetting that she is Felicity's sister. Felicity sees the light and makes friends with a nicer girl named Susan Blake.

Both June and Felicity appear in all the following books as we follow small things in their form as well as our original form.

Answer: Upper Fourth at Malory Towers

Connie and Ruth are twins who join the Upper Fourth; they are very different from each other both physically and personality wise. Connie is described as big, brash, obstinate and determined while Ruth is much smaller, thinner and appears very shy and quiet.

Connie does everything for Ruth, including answering for her, and Ruth lives in her shadow. The only thing Ruth is better at is academics. After the Upper Fourth Exam bad things start to happen to Connie, items becoming missing or broken, and Ruth keeps replacing them with hers.

Darrell finds out that it is Ruth that is actually doing these things because Connie made her agree to fail the exam so they would both be left down a class together the next year. Ruth loves Connie but also hates the way she dominates her. Darrell's handling of this affair leads to her being given back her position as head of the class, and Ruth didn't do as bad as she thought and scraped through enough to move up with the other girls and become her own person.

Answer: In the Fifth at Malory Towers

Moira was one of two girls left down from the previous class and they were both made joint head girls. She is a hard domineering girl, very confident in her leadership and most people obeyed her but she was not well liked.

The fifth formers were given a pantomime to write and perform for their main task in this form and Moira made herself producer. Though efficient, she had no people skills and rubbed everyone the wrong way, which caused Alicia to quit and the production to fall apart.

She began to receive poison pen letters, which were eventually found to be from June. Because of June's bad record and lack of other redeeming features she is expelled until Moira speaks up on her behalf and gets her given another chance. Alicia, being grateful on her family's behalf, agrees to re-join the pantomime and everyone else follows suit.

Answer: In the Fifth at Malory Towers

Catherine is the other student left down but is quite the opposite of Moira. Overly helpful and friendly, she annoys the other girls by always trying to be nice and pour oil on any troubled waters. Then she starts doing things for everyone and gains the name Saint Catherine for her troubles.

Although she is technically joint head girl, she lets Moira run things her way and is always on hand to help her as necessary, but Moira is also nasty and rude to her. Personally, I always think she was a bit hard done by. She may have been annoying, but I don't think she deserved the constant mockery she got from the other students.

Answer: In the Fifth at Malory Towers

Maureen is the only new girl to the class in this term. Her previous school had burned down, so she had to leave mid-year. Maureen is very similar to Gwendoline - she is just as conceited and spoilt, thinks herself wonderful, and loves to tell stories about herself. The girls tell her how much she is going to love Gwen and how they would be best friends.

Gwen is late back that term and has actually decided to try and be a bit more sensible, but she arrives to find this annoying new girl who wants to follow her around. She finds Maureen highly annoying and boring and is devastated to find out that the girls think they are peas in a pod. Of course, both girls are convinced that they are perfect for the lead role in the pantomime and are greatly let down when it goes to Mary-Lou.

Answer: Last Term at Malory Towers

Amanda comes to Malory Towers from a famous sports school where she is training for the Olympics when her school also burns down. She is described as big and tall with a booming voice. She is not much interested in anything or anyone but her sport.

It is a tradition in the school that the sixth formers train the younger classes, but Amanda has no interest in helping. She does, however, identify June as the best there is, which makes the other girls laugh because June doesn't try, so they dare her to try and teach her.

Amanda starts to train June hard in tennis and swimming, but her demanding nature and June's personality don't match. June gives up on it, but she eventually becomes the heroine of the school when she sees Amanda swimming in the sea in an undertow and rows out to rescue her.

Amanda is badly hurt and has ruined her chances for the Olympics, but actually comes back a humbler person and starts to spend her time coaching the younger girls - including June, of course, who has finally made Alicia proud of her!

Answer: Last Term at Malory Towers

Suzanne is the niece of Mam'zelle Rougiers, one of the French mistresses. Suzanne is pretty much a non-character. She is introduced, the girls have fun with her accent. Alicia has fun teaching her strange words that she doesn't use correctly and she actively encourages the second formers (now June and Felicity's year) to come into their classroom and play tricks on the teachers.

She is never actually given a last name - I have used Rougiers to separate her from any other possible Suzannes in the books.

Answer: Last Term at Malory Towers

Jo is mentioned for the first time in this book, although it is clear she has been at the school for at least one term before, as the girls know her. She is a second former with Felicity, June and Susan.

Jo is another spolit selfish girl, the daughter of a loud, brash, overbearing father who is a selfmade man and definitely not of the class of most of the students' parents. Jo likes to boast about her money and the things she has.

She has a birthday and her aunt sends her a lot of money that she manages to lose; it is found by Matron, who confiscates it. Jo has one friend, a young first former called Deirdre. Together they go to get the money back but end up taking double by mistake.

They go to town to buy food for a midnight feast and are seen and reported. First formers are not allowed into town at that time and Deirdre was back an hour late for prep. Jo refuses to own up and admit it was her fault, so the whole form is punished. The form figure out it was Jo and send her to Coventry.

Answer: Last Term at Malory Towers

Deirdre is a shy, weak young girl in the first form who is befriended by Jo from the second form after she is nice to Jo when the second form is laughing at her over a prank. Deirdre doesn't have much money and is too shy to have any real friends in the first form, so she loves to listen to Jo talk about things and other people.

When Jo is sent to Coventry, she talks Deirdre into running away with her. They go to an old shack, where they have stored the food they bought for the feast, and stay there for the night.

While they are gone the police inform the school that Matron's stolen money has turned up in the shop in town, so they work out that the girls had taken it.

Miss Peters, Bill and Clarissa are out for a morning ride and find the girls and bring them back to the school. Jo is expelled but Deirdre is given another chance.