Upper Fourth at Malory Towers

Enid Blyton's Upper Fourth at Malory Towers is a boarding school story for 9 year olds about a big sister who can't wait to show her little sister round, and a little sister who doesn't wait to be shown.

What happens

Darrell Rivers is heading back to Malory Towers, and this time Felicity is coming too. Felicity is almost thirteen and very shy. She's heard so much about the school she feels she knows every corner already.

Darrell has it all planned. She'll take Felicity under her wing and show her everything, right down to the swimming pool in the rocks.

Then Alicia's young cousin June turns up. June is twelve, bold as brass and not remotely interested in waiting for anyone. Within minutes she's marched Felicity off to hand in her health certificate alone, and Darrell is left in the drive wondering where her sister has gone.

That muddle is the heart of the opening, and it's very real. Darrell is hurt and cross and can't quite say so. June tells Felicity the big girls hate younger sisters tagging after them. Is she right? Felicity isn't sure either. So she smiles and says she's getting on fine, when really she'd love to ask Darrell a few things.

The Upper Fourth has its own worries, with big exams this term. There are new twins, and Connie answers every single question anyone puts to Ruth. And a letter has arrived for an Honourable Clarissa who hasn't even turned up yet (Gwendoline has already decided she'll be her friend).

It's all small and very absorbing. Irene finds her lost health certificate in the lining of her hat. You know exactly who everybody is within a page, and that's the comfort of it.

If you've got a reader with an older brother or sister, this one might land close to home. Wanting looking after and wanting to look grown-up at the same time is a very familiar tangle!

Worth knowing before you hand it over

Darrell and her friends are fifteen now and worrying about exams, so they're a good few years older than your reader. It's also very much of its time. Girls say jolly and dormy, Gwendoline is written off as a snob from the start, and Darrell admits she's never wanted to slap anyone so much (June, of course). Most children read straight past that. A few will want to talk it over.

What to read next

If your reader hasn't met Darrell before, First Term at Malory Towers is where she arrives at twelve, every bit as nervous as Felicity, with her father telling her to give back as much as she gets out of the school.