The Coming of Age of the Chalet School Quiz

Answer: The Pertwees

As the school has invited several Old Girls to stay for the celebrations, space is limited and local girls such as the Maynard triplets, Nina Rutherford and her cousins are to stay with their families instead (much to Emerence Hope's dismay, as she was looking forward to seeing Margot Maynard again).

At breakfast, Miss Annersley informs the girls that Yseult, Val and Ronnie Pertwee have temporarily left school as their mother is recovering from serious surgery in America. She and Miss Wilson explain to the other staff that Mrs Pertwee had delayed treatment because of her book tour and needing to provide for the girls, and became ill as a result.

The girls are staying with Cornelia van Alten, an Old Girl who lives in Boston, and attending an American school.

Answer: She tilts on her chair and falls backwards.

The Dawbarn twins transfer to Switzerland from the English branch at Glendower House, along with a few others. While Priscilla has grown up, Prudence has not, and complains about how boring everyone is. She annoys Mlle Berne by complaining about the Latin translations the class have to do, and plays up in prep by making unnecessary noise. Jo Scott sees Prudence tilting her chair and tries to steady it by grabbing at it, but Prudence ends up falling over, breaking the chair and landing painfully on her rear end. Mary-Lou Trelawney, who is taking prep, gets angry with Prudence and takes her to Matron, who gives her lotion as she has bruised herself badly. Priscilla is not sympathetic, telling Prudence that they're too old to act like kids now.

Answer: Josette Russell (Shakespeare)

Other suggested themes include a Garden Sale (Janice Chester), an Eastern Sale (Phyllis Amberley), a Dickens Sale (Isabel Drew), 'The Canterbury Tales' (Len Maynard), a Swiss Sale (Odette Bertoni), nursery rhymes (Betsy Lucy), ballads (Mary-Lou) and a Dutch Sale (Nan Herbert). Josette feels self-conscious that she hasn't come up with an idea yet and proposes a Shakespeare Sale, which initially ties with 'The Canterbury Tales' as the most popular idea. Elinor puts it to a vote and the Shakespeare Sale narrowly wins. Plays represented include 'A Winter's Tale', 'As You Like It', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'The Tempest', 'Twelfth Night', 'The Merry Wives of Windsor', and 'The Taming of the Shrew'. Elinor also discovers that someone has dipped the chalk in water and guesses it was a younger girl, and the Juniors are annoyed that someone (Norah Fitzgerald, as it happens) is making them look bad.

Answer: Carla von Flugen

Carla was one of Joey's classmates in the Tyrol years. She came from a well-off background, but lost everything during the war; her husband died in a concentration camp and her baby son died six months later. Joey had found out that Carla was working as a waitress in a coffee shop in Salzburg, and got in touch with Marie von und zu Wertheim, who talked Carla into quitting her job and coming back with her. Maria Marani, another Old Girl who was looking after the younger Maynards, is engaged to Walter Maclaren, a tutor who works for the Emburys.

The Sanatorium are hoping to take Walter on as a registrar once the current one leaves. As for other Old Girls, Sophie Hamel is keeping house for her father (and has gained loads of weight!) and her sister Berta is married with three children;, Bianca di Ferrara is married with six children and living near Naples; Anita Rincini is a teacher; and Gertrud Steinbrücke, one of the first pupils, lives in Salzburg.

Answer: On the lake steamer

Nancy is doing her nursing training in a hospital, but is currently on sick leave after having her appendix taken out. (She later wins a golliwog at the Sale and promises to donate him to her hospital as a mascot.) The Old Girls and current pupils and staff go on rambles together, and Mary-Lou's group travels to Thun, where they plan to go bathing and catch the lake steamer. Mary-Lou spots Miss Bubb boarding at Merligen and the girls are uncertain what to do, but Peggy and Mary-Lou decide to be polite and go over and talk to her. Miss Bubb is working part-time at the Chalet School as a Latin teacher, and Peggy remembers her from the Armishire days when she was the temporary headmistress. Miss Wilmot invites Miss Bubb to join them for coffee and cakes, as she knows Miss Bubb has very little money.

After Miss Bubb leaves, the girls go for a swim and Miss Wilmot accidentally disturbs a bald woman in one of the bathing chalets.

Answer: She collapses and has to be taken to hospital.

Margia Stevens opens the Sale (after Mike Maynard blows a whistle to signal the start of the Sale, much to Joey's embarrassment) and Joey runs into Miss Bubb while taking part in a competition that involves guessing book titles. When Nan Herbert (who is playing Antonio from 'The Merchant of Venice') calls time, Miss Bubb collapses and Joey catches her in time. Jack Maynard and Matron take her to Freudesheim and then to the Sanatorium, and Jack later tells the Heads that Miss Bubb is ill as a result of starving herself, and that her heart and one lung are both badly damaged (she had originally been sent to Switzerland for health reasons). Meanwhile, the Sale continues and Tom Gay's pièce de résistance is an Elizabeth manor house; the competition is to guess the major event which occurred in 1577, the year on the manor house.

The event is the beginning of Francis Drake's voyage around the world, and Miss Denny guesses it. She proposes that a museum be set up for the school - which Joey names after her - as Joey had referred to the house as a 'museum piece', and that the house be included as an exhibit.

Answer: A monkey puppet

While most of the girls have calmed down from the excitement, Prudence is in the mood to cause mischief during a prep session. First she piles all her books on her desk until Jo Scott tells her to put them on the floor. She then scatters sneezing powder around the classroom and Blossom considers going to Matron, but decides not to get her involved and gives the girls nasty-tasting lozenges, telling them they'll ward off colds (though she knows that someone is up to no good). Ros Lilley, normally a well-behaved girl, and Emerence Hope both giggle when Prudence brings out a monkey puppet and plays with it.

Unfortunately, Blossom catches her and has to cut the puppet open when Prudence can't get it off her hand. Blossom kicks Prudence out and Miss Wilson sees her in the corridor.

After finding out why Prudence is there, she tells Prudence that as she has acted like a Junior, she will be treated like one for a week: she will take lessons, games and walks with a Junior form, will lose her Senior privileges, and will go to bed early. Priscilla is not sympathetic and tells her sister she had it coming.

Answer: They have been bought by a hydroelectric company.

Joey, Marie, Frieda and Simone decide they're going to stop being wives and mothers and go back to the days of their youth, and allow the girls to call them by their first names. Sybil in particular is excited as the Tyrol is the country of her birth.

Although the Meinraths, the family who owned the Gasthaus at Spärtz, have left, the Quartette recognised Eigen Pfeiffen, who worked at the school as a child and who helped Joey rescue her old dog, Rufus, when he was a puppy. Eigen is very thin, but happy to see Joey and her friends again, as is Herr Braun.

His granddaughter Gretchen is now married with children, and the old school buildings have been bought by a hydroelectric company which built a dam at the local lake. The staff live in the houses, while the current head of the Sonnalpe Sanatorium is living in Die Rosen, Madge and Jem's old home.

The Quartette entertain the girls with stories of their antics in the Tyrol days.

Answer: Joey loses an oar, and she and Mary-Lou have to climb up the Dripping Rock.

The party go for an early swim on the lake and visit Innsbruck, with the Quartette, Sybil, Elinor and Mary-Lou visiting Frieda's family. They also visit the Sonnalpe to visit old friends and Dr Auböck, who owns Die Rosen, mentions that a friend of his has a chalet at Buchau, which Joey is hoping to buy as a holiday home. On the Monday, Joey and Mary-Lou hire a boat; Joey explains that she wants to talk to Mary-Lou alone and warn her not to tell the younger girls that she and the other prefects have been using the Quartette's first names.

She also tells her that Frieda has been going through a hard time with her daughter Gretchen, who has been in poor health, and needs a break. Joey accidentally knocks an oar into the water and manages to manoeuvre the boat over to the Dripping Rock, as she knows how to climb it.

Although she and Mary-Lou manage to get up it, both of them are exhausted. Luckily, a man at the top helps them up and he turns out to be Herr Helfen, one of the music teachers at the Chalet School, who also owns the chalet at Buchau.

He accompanies Joey and Mary-Lou back to the hotel. Marie is furious with Joey as they've all been worried about her, but Joey is happy because Herr Helfen has agreed to sell her his house, which she wants to use as a summer home.

Answer: Bruno eats the eggs for the egg-and-spoon race.

Mary-Lou goes to the airport as moral support for Jessica Wayne, who flies home to see her stepsister Rosamund for the last time before she dies. When Mary-Lou comes back, Miss Annersley tells her that she is going to succeed Elinor as Head Girl, much to Mary-Lou's amazement.

The school holds its sports day, with the blindfold race descending into chaos and Hilary Bennet falling on Jack's lap, Verity-Ann Carey winning the flowerpot race due to being small and light, and the tug-o'-war going horribly wrong when the rope snaps.

At the prizegiving ceremony, Dr Graves announces that the Margot Venables Prize (previously won by Jo Scott) has had its name changed to the Josephine Maynard Prize at the request of the girls. The girls vote for the winner and Mary-Lou wins the prize by a unanimous vote.