The Wrong Chalet School Trivia Quiz

Answer: The uniform

Katharine's parents are medical missionaries stationed in China and have been interned by the government. Katharine lives with her aunt, a ditzy artist who decides to send her to the Chalet School as an old friend of hers taught there. Unfortunately, she can't remember which one it is and writes to three Chalet Schools: one in Sussex (which turns out to be a preparatory school), one in the fictional town of Tanswick and one on the island of St Briavels (our Chalet School). Both the Tanswick and St Briavels schools have a headmistress called Miss Wilson and a brown uniform, but one uniform is brown and orange - a colour scheme which Aunt Lucia likes - and the other is brown and flame. Aunt Lucia sees a group of girls from Tanswick and thinks that their bright orange tunics must be 'flame', and therefore the wrong school, so she sends Katharine over to another group of girls with brown uniforms and introduces her to Miss Burn, the supervising mistress. Miss Burn has a Mary Katharine Gordon on her list, but assumes someone must have got the names mixed up (since Katharine's full name is Katherine Mary Gordon). Of course, what we realise - but what Katharine doesn't - is that she was supposed to go to Tanswick.

Answer: A teddy bear

If you have the Girls Gone By or original edition, you might recall a picture of Katharine holding up a teddy and looking confused. Aunt Lucia has forgotten to order name tapes and used ink to mark Katharine's things instead, so Matron sorts Katherine out with some and tells her to sew them on in needlework class.

When Katharine's trunks do arrive, she is puzzled as she only recalls packing one. One of them does have her things in them, including some carved bears from Switzerland, but another one has clothes that she does not recognise, shoes that don't fit, and a battered old teddy bear. Katharine realises that the second trunk definitely can't be hers as she hasn't had a teddy since she was a little girl. Miss Burn notices that Katharine's trunk is marked 'South Wales' and wondered if she was meant for Tanswick.

Answer: She can't stop giggling at Katharine's facial expressions.

Herr Laubach criticises Katharine's terrible art and orders her to redraw it. Hilda Jukes is something of a giggler and a klutz, and when Katharine involuntarily makes a funny face by wobbling her nose like a rabbit while drawing, Hilda loses it. Unfortunately for her, Herr Laubach also loses it and kicks her out of the art class. To make matters worse, she has another fit of the giggles and Peggy Bettany overhears her. Hilda refuses to tell Peggy what she was laughing at as she doesn't want to get Katharine into trouble, so Peggy orders her to see her after dinner. Katharine goes with her and apologises for provoking Hilda.

Answer: Musical comedy actress

After the events of 'Carola Storms the Chalet School', Joey and Jack and their children have travelled out to Canada as Jack is attending a medical conference out there, and it also gives Joey a chance to see Margot again as she is staying with Jem and Madge Russell and their children. Joey has also taken Sybil Russell with her so she can meet Kevin and Kester, her twin baby brothers. Margot has put on weight and is much better, and she, Len, Con and Josette Russell have been enrolled at a Canadian convent. Joey also reveals that she will be staying out there for longer as she is pregnant and Jem and Jack want her to wait until she has had the baby before she goes home.

In her postscript, she mentions that Madge has met an old friend, Gwen Gordon, who is acting in a musical called 'Puss in the Corner' and has brought her daughter with her as her husband is also a medical missionary who is currently MIA. Joey thinks that this girl might be the one who was supposed to be going to the Chalet School instead of Katharine. Miss Annersley decides to keep Katharine at the Chalet School until she receives further information.

Answer: Practising jujitsu

Maeve and Maurice, Bride's younger siblings, have returned from India along with their parents and the Bettany family are all living together, but Bride often finds herself caught up in the friction between Maeve and Peggy, as Maeve resents Peggy bossing her around. Matron hears a noise in Wallflower, Maeve's dormitory, and goes up to investigate but the girls hear her in time and rush back to bed. Polly Winterton overhears a conversation between her little sister Lala and Mary-Lou Trelawney about something happening in Wallflower, and Brides is suspicious as the girls in the dorm have a reputation for mischief, but doesn't want Peggy getting involved.

She and her friends investigate and catch the girls attempting jujitsu. The Dawbarn twins explain that they got a book for their birthday which mentioned it and wanted to try it, but Bride and Tom Gay warn them that they could injure themselves doing it without supervision, and make them promise not to do it again.

They tell Matron that they have dealt with the problem themselves.

Answer: Gone with the Wind

Each form has their own garden section, which they are expected to maintain, and Katharine's form, Upper Fourth, have a rock garden. Jennifer and her friends are sitting around reading 'Gone with the Wind' ('Forever Amber' in the abridged version) and Blossom Willoughby calls them out for slacking while the other girls are working on the rock garden, warning them that Miss Everett will notice their absence.

Some of the girls take her seriously and go to the garden, but Jennifer, Margaret Hart and Sylvia Curling stay behind and carry on reading. Miss Everett asks the girls if any of them haven't worked in the rock garden that week, and while Freda Lund and Amy Dunne are excused for health reasons, Sylvia goes quiet and Jennifer says outright that she hates gardening and was reading instead. Miss Everett asks her what she was reading, but then Miss Dene calls her to the Heads' office as Miss Annersley has found 'Gone with the Wind' in Jennifer's locker. Matron also does a thorough search of Jennifer's belongings and finds another banned book and some undeclared sweets. Jennifer is punished severely and has to miss out on Madge's birthday celebrations, and assumes Blossom and Katharine both told on her.

Answer: Dislocated collarbone

Katharine - who has found out earlier that her parents are alive and her father is in Manchuria - is a skilled tennis player and Dickie Christy suggests that she be picked for the tennis six in the upcoming tournament against Campden House. Katharine goes to the tryouts and although Peggy is sceptical at first, Katharine beats Blossom and is ultimately picked as Nancy Chester's partner, with Blossom as a reserve. Katharine has trouble at first, but she and Nancy go on to win their match once she gets used to playing before an audience. Nita, who is partnered with Peggy, falls awkwardly and dislocates her collarbone. Anthea Barnett is unavailable as she has a headache, and Blossom is missing, so Katharine is brought on as a sub and wins the match.

Answer: She smashes the window.

Again, if you have the Girls Gone By book or a version with the original art, you might recall that the front cover has a picture of Blossom smashing the window. Janice Chester, one of the juniors, gives Blossom a message that Herr Laubach wants to see her in the art room and Blossom unthinkingly goes there. Blossom looks for him and waits for a bit, but when she tries to leave, she finds that the door to the lobby outside the art room is locked. Blossom panics as the match is due to start soon and tries to kick the door down, but hurts her toe, and the vents are too small for her to climb through.

The windows are locked, so as a last resort, Blossom uses one of the busts, nicknamed 'Clytie', to smash a hole in the window. She then uses a chair and one of her shoes to get rid of the remaining glass, so she can climb out without cutting herself or ruining her clothes. Miss Dene sees her and Blossom has to tell her the whole story. Miss Dene swears her to secrecy and Blossom watches the end of the match, congratulating Katharine on her victory.

Answer: She has nightmares about Blossom's face being mutilated.

Miss Annersley is horrified when she finds out how Blossom got out of the art room, saying that Blossom could have been badly injured, and calls the school together for an inquiry. Jennifer is too scared to own up, so Miss Annersley goes through the girls and asks where they were. Most of them have alibis, but when it comes to Jennifer's turn, she lies about it and Janice Chester cannot recall which girl gave her the message, only saying that she had dark hair. Matron calls Miss Wilson into the school sick bay because Jennifer has been having nightmares and crying fits.

When Miss Wilson asks what the matter is, Jennifer blurts out that she can't stop thinking about Blossom's face being covered in blood. Matron brings Blossom to the san so that Jennifer can see for herself that Blossom is unharmed. Jennifer confesses that she locked Blossom in the art room so that Blossom would miss the tennis tournament, but Blossom makes fun of her for thinking that she would just stay put and not try to get out when she had a tournament to play.

She asks Miss Wilson to let Jennifer off punishment as they've sorted things out, and Miss Wilson agrees, though not without making a few pointed remarks.

Answer: Tom startles a horse and it runs away.

The island setting makes it an ideal place for a pageant with a sea theme. Jo writes the pageant, which has several songs and poems themed around the sea, and stars Dickie and Peggy as King Neptune and Queen Amphitrite. Tom plays Triton and Nancy Chester plays Arion, while several other girls play mermaids, nereids and sea nymphs. Dickie and Peggy ride a cart horse from their boat to the beach, but after Dickie gives a closing speech, Tom blows her conch shell a little too enthusiastically and the horse spooks. Luckily, Peggy and Dickie are skilled riders and manage to calm him down, and Mollie Bettany - who finds the whole thing hilarious, much to Bride's annoyance - says that she expects her daughters to be able to handle an old horse like that. Meanwhile, Katharine has a happy ending when her mother returns from China, safe, and reveals that her father has also escaped. Aunt Lucia has managed to clear things up with Miss Annersley and Katharine is allowed to stay on at the Chalet School.