James and Jacqueline

About the Book

Brentfield Academy for young ladies was one of those old English Schools built around 1910 to cater for the education of the daughters of the aristocracy and the rich who recognised that girls were potentially just as clever as boys. Their mothers would have supported the aims, if not the means, of the suffragette movement, and their fathers would have gone along with their wives both for a quiet life and because, frankly, they were totally apathetic about the whole question of sexual equality. It was quite close to a leading boys' school which was only two miles away in South West London. In the following Spring, by which time the current sixth formers would have left and be at university, the school was going to be celebrating its centenary. Like many leading schools it was divided into four houses both for academic and sporting purposes. Each was named after a British female monarch; Mary, Elizabeth, Anne and Victoria. The head girl that year was Helena Clarke who therefore was not allowed to be a house captain as well. As it happened the four house captains and the head girl had all been very close friends for several years although in different houses. But the most important thing they had in common was that all of them were earmarked for places at Oxford or Cambridge. Helena was a maths genius and also very good at music. She was hoping for Cambridge. Jennifer Tremayne, captain of Mary House, also wanted to get to Cambridge to read neuroscience but at a different college to Helena. The other three house captains were hoping for Oxford colleges, Sylvia Johnson of Elizabeth to read modern languages, Gillian Watson of Anne to read classics, and Anne McFarland, the oldest one, of Victoria to read geology. All were also senior prefects in charge of school discipline but none of them bothered to enforce the purely venial school rules too seriously. More serious misdemeanours were discussed when they had an official meeting each Monday lunchtime. That week in mid-October they had two serious problems to deal with. One concerned a girl in Jennifer's house and one in Gillian's. “Helena,” Jennifer began, “I really don't know what to do about Pauline A’Court, the captain of the under16s hockey team this year. No fewer than four very embarrassed and scared members of the team have spoken to me in the past week. In all four cases Pauline seems to be making lesbian overtures to them and in one case rather unpleasantly.” The head girl looked very worried. “Well if there is a blessing attached to any of this, Jen, it's that it's happening in your house. You are by far the best suited among us to deal with it. Of the five of us you've got the most sensible and level head on your shoulders and you're certainly the most emotionally stable to deal with it. If it had been Sylve's house she would just have threatened Pauline with a night out with Justin!” All five laughed out loud at this but even Sylvia was concerned at the serious side. “Jen, as I see it you've only got one option. Ask Pauline if it's true and if it is tell her to pack it up. Give her a week, but don't tell her who has spoken to you. If during this time any of the four girls report another incident, or when you talk to them after a week they infer that it's still going on, then you'll have to take it to Miss Tarrant. This sort of thing is what the headmistress is here to handle and in our centenary year it is the one sort of scandal which we cannot have in the school. Shouldn't you have a word with her too Hel?” The head girl looked doubtful. “No I think Jen should deal with it first and then if things haven't improved we'll go to the head together. Is that all right with you Jen?” Jennifer looked resigned but agreed. She asked Gillian and Anne what they would do and as everyone thought the same they left it there. The problem in Gillian's house was more straightforward but probably more difficult for girls of 17 and 18 to deal with. A fourteen

About the Author

Anton Wills-Eve has been a multi lingual correspondent for all the major news agencies, UPI, Reuters, AFP and AAP since leaving public school in London in 1960. He studied French history and literature at the Sorbonne in Paris and worked mainly at sports writing and as a war correspondent retiring in 1982 following a helicopter crash. He covered conflicts in North Africa, Indo China, and N.Ireland before getting a BA in philosophy and working as a translator. He is married with two sons and lives on the Wirral Peninsula in NW England. (Cover photo taken from author’s home).