Christmas Term at Vernley by Margaret Biggs was first published by Blackie in 1951, but I read a 2012 reprint by Girls Gone By Publishers. It has a few black and white illustrations by W. Spence.
I enjoyed this one despite it not really having anything to do with Christmas, it’s just mentioned in passing close to the end of the book.
It begins at the home of Judy and Philippa (Phil) Fraser right at the end of the school holidays. Their two brothers are also at home and they’re preparing to go back to their boarding school too.
Vernley, in common with most schools has been split up into two ‘houses’ called Raleigh and Drake. Both Judy and Phil are in Drake which is regarded as the rather useless house, they’re the duffers. They never get enough points to win the end of year cup and they’re getting a bit despondent about it. Everyone in Drake is pessimistic about the situation which is half of the problem. They just don’t have the confidence that they can do as well as Raleigh at anything, and Raleigh in turn have a sense of entitlement and superiority.
In the past Phil has been a big part of the problem as she is a bit of a harum scarum and her exploits have led to Drake having points deducted. She’s constantly ‘turning over a new leaf’, but she just can’t help herself so gets into trouble again and again. Her eldest brother John thinks that Drake’s dire record is a bit of a slur on the family name and has a bet with Judy that Phil can sort herself out this time and help Drake to win the cup. She just needs to be encouraged.
This is the first book I’ve read by Margaret Biggs and I was particularly impressed with her dialogue between the schoolgirls. It all seems very authentic to me, with plenty of cheeky banter going on between the girls. There were a couple of hockey matches which seemed long to me, I was never keen on hockey, but no doubt if you were an enthusiastic hockey player in your schooldays then that would be a plus for you.
