Terms Conditions: Life in Girls Boarding Schools, 1939-1979 by Ysenda Maxtone Graham

Terms Conditions: Life in Girls Boarding Schools, 1939-1979 Reviews

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  Patrick W. E. Walker

  I originally ordered this as a gift for my sister a lecturer in gender studies as I thought she would find it interesting Then it was inexplicably delayed for nearly a year but I was sufficiently intrigued to buy it when it was re released Reading a review on the American site I think I understand why it cites a story where the headmistress of one school routinely kisses and gropes her sixth form girls goodnight That story is not included in my edition so I suspect it was edited out of the published edition due to all the current child abuse hysteria it rather beggared belief that you could have so many teenage girls living together without male companionship and have nothing than asexual 'pashes' crushes on one another and the occasional hint at romances between the staff Nevertheless the published version is a terrific read a lost world and perhaps deservedly so the upper and middle classes of the empire dumping their daughters off as they left for overseas assignments or in the hope of social climbing You don't know whether to laugh or cry at these poor girls arriving with expectations of 'Mallory Towers' and other fictional idealized girls schools and finding the reality so different one girl commenting that everyone was so mean and cruel so she had to be mean and cruel too I remember I loved the Billy Bunter stories as a kid until a friend of mine who'd actually been to boarding school informed me of their true nature When you look at how some of the high profile people who emerged survived from this experience turned out it now seems so obvious why I remember doubting Sandi Toksvig's story of her boarding school where they were only allowed to watch Top of the Pops in black and white because colour would have been too exciting for them but after this book is seems so plausible So a great read and I'd recommend it to all
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  Elizabeth

  I loved this book but found there were just too many personal stories in it from the women the author had interviewed thus making parts of it a bit boring Apart from that it has perhaps made me appreciate and understand the boarding school I went to in Malvern which amalgamated with Malvern Boys College several years after I left in 1969 My school is now Audley retirement homes and the joke is that we are all old enough to move back in I recognise so many things in this book the spinster teachers and house staff the endless petty rules cold dormitories clothes lists playing Jacks in the common room and having religion enforced upon us By coincidence I had already written my own little book of boarding school life partly to tie up all my school photos into a story and partly for future generations of my own family because i lived a way of life that has now disappeared I think all these boarding schools were in ‘cahoots’ with each other because I have mentioned so many similar things in my own little book never to be publishedit breaks copyright rules We girls of the 1960’s still reunite every now and then and the years roll away we all revert to who we were when we were at school just like the ‘girls’ in the book
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  Jacqueline Tan

  Although I went to a co ed boarding school in the 60's 61 68 it was much the same in the ethos of getting on with it always cold in winter games on a freezing afternoon awful food until a new cook came along The fish on Friday was a nightmare could smell for miles and the white sauce with it always tasted like shoe polish smelt How did they manage that Having said that those were great years there made friends who are still friends today had a good education and encouraged to do my best in all Useless at sciencemaths but good at sport and the arts managed to scrape me through cse maths eventully that exam came in just in time for me to get before I left to gain entry to a music college As far as the boys were concerned we didn't take a lot of notice until 4th5th year and even then were interested in the boys from Bloxham School or the village boys we didn't know them or see them every day Whilst teams house were really impotant not to let down and massive rivalries against other houses the main thing we all absorbed was always treat others as would wish to be treated yourself there is good in everyone but it is for you to find it in them Not easy when some little prissy girl ratted on you for talking after lights out so you got hour detention I managed to get to near end of A's in OED before was told to start at Z and work back Detentions always on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons so had to miss matches against other schools so let the team down not goodThe most awful thing now I still fancy spamlettuce leaf tomato slice all put in a sandwich with mixed fruit jam not forgetting marg on the bread awful skinless sausages cut down the middle with marg and marmalde inside and kipper sandwiches
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  fast reader

  This is an excellent book if the subject interests you it does me Naturally slightly subjective as it uses individual stories and memories Interesting that even the girls who hated their schools appear to be loyal to the memories of them My only objection is that the author suggests that a mark of intelligence and education is listening to radio 4 Based on the current gross bias of the BBC one would think this indicated otherwise This apart the book is well written good fun and a riveting read
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  hedberg

  Amusing to begin with but with lots of anecdotes which were or less the same and it soon palled Having been to a girls public school in the fifties and sixties I recognised some aspects such as the food and the spartan conditions but the author interviewed a very narrow section of previous boardersmostly horsey Sloane types and seemed to ignore the high academic standards of many schools We weren’t all sent away to fill time until a suitable husband came along and many of us forged an interesting life and career as a result of our education The book seemed very cliuey and there was an awful lot of name dropping An irritating read