The Rivals of the Chalet School Quiz

Answer: On a walk with Jem, Dick and Captain Humphries

Joey is interested in the new chalet being built near the lake, so she goes for a walk with Jem, Captain Humphries and Dick to look at it. They encounter Miss Browne, who attempts to sell St Scholastika's to them. It is an English school which takes English pupils, and focuses on modern languages. Joey points out that she is already multilingual, and Jem adds that she is already a pupil at the Chalet School. Miss Browne responds by making a rude remark about French headmistresses. Joey is insulted, but Jem intervenes and explains that his wife is the founder of the Chalet School.

He and Dick later warn Joey not to cause any trouble.

Answer: They are no good at games.

The St Scholastika's girls express surprise at how small the Chalet School is when they encounter a group of Seniors on a walk, and make a rude comment about their uniform. Joey wonders about the possibility of playing games with St Scholastika's, as there is a lack of pitch space in the area.

While the Chalet School seniors are waiting outside the gate, they overhear Elaine Gilling, the head girl of St Scholastika's, wondering if the Chalet School are any good at games and Elaine's friend saying that foreigners 'can't play games for nuts' and are scared of balls that aren't soft.

As the Chalet School have a good cricket team, Joey and her friends are offended. The story of the St Scholastika's girls' comments spreads throughout the school.

Answer: Make the St Scholastika's girls walk in the wet grass

Cornelia Flower, Evadne Lannis, Margia Stevens and their friends are incensed at St Scholastika's rudeness and swear revenge on them. Cornelia mentions the Ku Klux Klan and Margia reads through the 'Elise Dinsmore' books to get an (inaccurate) idea about the KKK.

When the Middles and the St Scholastika's girls meet each other on a walk on a narrow path, the Chalet School girls walk two abreast, forcing the St Scholastika's girls to walk on the wet grass, and make passive-aggressive comments about them in French when the St Scholastika's girls complain. Miss Stewart, the new history teacher, is unaware of the rule about walking in single file when they have to share the path. Miss Browne later phones the Chalet School to complain, and Cornelia overhears it.

Answer: A rift in the path has widened due to the ground giving way, and the girls are trapped on the other side.

Joey points out a rift in the path, and although the Chalet School girls are able to jump over it, the rock later gives way and both they and the St Scholastika's group are marooned. Joey thinks that there must be a way down as there is a village on the alm above, and Miss Wilson sends a couple of girls to Geisalm to find out the best way of getting back.

A local innkeeper suggests a route to them and lets the girls stay at his inn for a while to recuperate. The journey back is a long and arduous one, especially for the St Scholastika's girls, who don't know the area and are less prepared.

Some of the St Scholastika's girls, such as Gipsy Carson and Maureen Donovan - befriend the Chalet School girls looking after them, but others - especially Elaine - feel that they are being patronised and resent being told what to do by Miss Wilson.

The St Scholastika's girls are all stiff and sore the next day, and Elaine gets a group of friends together and declares war on the Chalet School.

Answer: Maureen Donovan

Elaine is resentful that the Chalet School have a Guide Company when Miss Browne refuses to allow it at St Scholastika's, and an argument breaks out among the St Scholastika's girls. Miss Browne walks in on them and punishes them by refusing to let them go out skating.

As they watch the Chalet School girls skate on the lake, Maureen decides to sneak out at night and encourages other girls to go with her. Gipsy and Elspeth McDonald refuse, and when Gipsy begs Elaine to stop the girls, Elaine refuses. Joey and her friends notice that the St Scholastika's girls are skating on an unsafe part of the lake, and as Joey is unable to tell any of the teachers, she and Frieda Mensch go down to the lake, as she knows Madge wouldn't want her to stand by when people are in danger. Joey and Frieda try to warn the girls, but Maureen slips on the ice and it starts to break. Joey tries to crawl over to Maureen to help her, but the ice breaks and both girls fall into the lake.

Some local men, including Frieda's brother Gottfried, rescue them, but both girls become ill and Joey's life is in danger.

Answer: The Red Sarafan

Both schools are worried sick about Joey and Maureen, especially Joey, who has pleuro-pneumonia and is in critical condition, to the point where Jem worries that she may not live to see the afternoon. The St Scholastika's girls are barely able to focus on their work.

The Robin runs off to St Scholastika's, where Joey is in bed, and insists that she be allowed to visit Joey. Jem is reluctant at first, but then thinks that hearing the Robin might help Joey. Joey is delirious, and the Robin sings 'The Red Sarafan', an old Russian folk song that her mother used to sing. Jem tells the Robin to keep singing until he tells her to stop and notices that Joey's pulse is stronger.

Although it takes several weeks for her to recover, Joey pulls through.

Answer: Flouring their hair

The Seniors discover that the Middles have been pranking them by hiding various items and sewing pyjama cases and pyjamas together, and decide to prank them back. Mary Burnett, the Head Girl, tells them not to but Joey, Simone, Frieda and Marie go ahead with the plan. Frieda and Simone sprinkle cornflour in Cornelia, Evadne, Anita Rincini and Yvette Mercier's hair, Marie puts some powder in Ilonka Barkocz and Signa Johansen's baths, and Joey ties Margia and Suzanne Mercier's bedclothes together. Unfortunately, it backfires when Madge Russell, who is helping out at the school, sees the four girls who have flour in their hair and calls an assembly to find the culprits.

She is not impressed when she finds out who did it, and punishes them by making them wash the girls' hair and dry it (not an easy task in those days!)

Answer: She pushes the Robin away and nearly knocks her over.

Joey talks about throwing a party for the St Scholastika's girls as a gesture of peace, but things go badly wrong when the Protestant girls and the St Scholastika's girls attend chapel together, and Elaine complains to Mary about St Scholastika's not having a say in where the collection money goes. Elaine thinks it should go to foreign missions, but Joey explains that the school is multinational and Mary adds that they would rather help local people.

The Robin, whose mother died of TB, tells Elaine about the bed that Chalet School girls sponsor for children with TB.

She touches Elaine's arm and Elaine brushes her off so rudely that she nearly knocks her over, which angers Joey and her friends. Joey and Mary complain to Madge, and Madge tells Joey off for slang and assuming the worst of Elaine, but Joey points out that Elaine is resentful because of the incident with Maureen and St Scholastika's not having Guides.

Answer: Gerry Challoner

Grizel has written to her old friends to say that she will be visiting and brings Gerry Challoner (of 'Gerry Goes to School' fame) with her, whom she has met while studying music in Italy. Unfortunately, this is bad timing on Grizel's part as several girls are ill with chicken pox. Grizel and Gerry offer to help Madge and the staff, and take a group of girls out for a walk.

Unfortunately, the walk goes wrong when they bump into the St Scholastika's girls, and although Grizel and Gerry try to keep them apart because of the epidemic, the St Scholastika's girls shout abuse at the Chalet School girls, the Chalet School girls respond and a vicious snowball fight breaks out. Gerry and Grizel manage to break it up and Grizel keeps Joey out of it by reminding her that Madge has had enough to deal with. Madge punishes the perpetrators and sends them to bed for the day.

Answer: Vera Smithers

Vera Smithers is a huge snob, and is impressed by the fact that Marie comes from an upper-class family and Princess Elisaveta of Belsornia is a former pupil. Elisaveta sends Joey an odd letter saying that someone has written anonymously to her about how the Chalet School girls had been disrespectful by not calling her 'Princess Elisaveta' (which doesn't bother her at all!), and Madge receives a letter from the King of Belsornia to the same effect. Madge makes enquiries and the Chalet School girls all profess ignorance, but Miss Browne discovers that Vera is responsible when she finds scraps of paper in her desk - along with a banned novel - with writing on them which is very telling.

She asks Elaine, Gipsy and Elspeth about it, and while Elspeth and Gipsy are confused, Elaine inadvertently reveals that she was involved. Miss Browne is disgusted and summons Vera, while Gipsy beats herself up for not doing enough to stop the feud. Vera confesses to writing the letter and is pretty nonchalant until Miss Browne announces that she will be expelled.

She begs Miss Browne to reconsider, but Miss Browne refuses, saying that she is doing it for Vera's own good. She also punishes Elaine and finally consents to starting a Guide Company. The feud is over, though Madge reminds Joey and her friends that they were just as responsible as the St Scholastika's girls were.