Debbie Young's favorite fiction books set in boarding schools

This was one of my favourite books when I was a child, and it still makes me laugh even now. On first reading, I was immediately captivated by the witty depiction of the closed world of Linbury Court Preparatory School, a traditional boys’ boarding school inspired by the school at which the author had taught. The endearing central character of Jennings is well-meaning and spirited, but his mad-cap schemes, in which he is aided by his chum Darbishire, inevitably backfire with hilarious results. I especially loved the language of their schoolboy banter, eg “what a wizard wheeze!” for “what a great idea”. Although first published in 1950, it’s still a very entertaining read.

Many people will be familiar with the two series of comedy films, one made in the 1960s and the other in the 2000s, and I highly recommend going back to the series of books that inspired the spirit of the films. Cartoonist Ronald Searle dreamed up this anarchic school and drew hilarious cartoons satirising head teachers, staff, and pupils. Another product of the mid-twentieth century, his wicked observational humour is still fresh and funny. Once you’ve enjoyed his iconic St Trinian’s cartoons, you’ll never see a girls’ boarding school in the same way again!

This is the first of a series written by Geoffrey Willans about the fictional boys’ boarding school, St Custard’s, and Willans’ hilarious wordplay is the perfect complement to Ronald Searle’s cartoons. It’s a spoof guide to surviving the English public school system, told in the voice of one of the pupils, Nigel Molesworth. As with Jennings, its vocabulary is a delight, enhanced by Molesworth’s misspellings and catchphrases, eg “as any fule kno”. I enjoyed this first as a child, but my whole family found it entertaining, and it’s still a go-to book for whenever you need a good laugh. 

Moving on now to something more serious, this is the start of a very long and very popular saga set at a girls’ boarding school, founded in the 1920s, by a pair of sisters without any apparent qualifications, in a Swiss chalet, as a means of supporting themselves. It’s a children’s book but has a huge following among adults, with its many adventures featuring an ever-changing range of pupils and teachers from all over the world. They’re now very dated (not least for their cavalier attitude to health and safety and indeed towards education), but they have a timeless charm.

Finally, a serious, sombre book, and a modern classic. Set at a strict boarding school for girls, Appleyard College in Australia, it tells the story of an ill-fated outing to a local beauty spot at which a teacher and two pupils go missing. Lindsay brilliantly sets up the mystery with all kinds of backstories, and (plot spoiler alert) it’s never truly resolved, but the haunting story lingers with the reader long after they’ve finished the book. This has also been made into a film, but as always, it’s worth reading the original story – Lindsay’s writing is as evocative as any film.