Prudence Arnold

[Daisy]

I don't think keeping Prudence down when the rest went up would have been very wise. I can just imagine her as the only girl there with any experience of the school - she'd be unbearable! Miss Theobald couldn't take the risk of her being the wrong sort of influence on younger girls.

[Poppy]

Yes, I suppose she couldn't risk it...

[Yak]

Also Pam was left behind cos she was too young to go up and it would have been an ideal excuse for Prudence to get her claws back into her I guess

[Daisy]

That's a very good point. I'd forgotten how poor Pam suffered at Prudence's hands.

[Darrell71]

Yeah, but couldn't they have moved Prudence up? But maybe not because then she wouldn't be able to keep up and all....she was academically poor as it is!!

[Poppy]

I think it was best for Miss Theobald to act like she did. When you think about it, it was the only decision to make because some of the second formers might be moving up!

[Darrell71]

Yes, exactly! Good point! Now, does everyone agree upon this: Miss.Theobald did right in expelling Prudence, and it is not an error in the book.

Man, Enid did think strategically tho.

[Poppy]

I know, I mean it took us a whole thread to work that one out!

[Yak]

No I don't agree. I think that Miss T could have let her have one more term to try and sort herself out. Being disliked by the girls would have been a hard punishment but it could have made her really want to change.

[Darrell71]

But Yak, tho you've got your points, we already discussed that. The girls not liking her might have made her even worse! That is why we think Miss.T did the right thing!

[Poppy]

Yes, she certainly might have become even more unbearable- if that's possible! And she was given enough time to prove she could be good.

[Yak]

The thing is, Darrell, the point of a thread is to DISCUSS things, not to all reach exactly the same opinion

[Darrell71]

I know, I'm trying to convince you! As if that's possible! Yeah, we are discussing!! It's a cool debate.

[Poppy]

Yes, I do like a good old debate and I agree this is a very good subject to debate on.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Yes, I do like a good old debate...

Funnily enough, Enid Blyton writes in Summer Term at St Clare's:

She [Prudence] fancied herself at clever conversation, and was always trying to get the other girls to argue about such things as "Should women rule the world instead of men?" and "Should girls be given exactly the same education as boys?" "Oh shut up!" Janet would say. "Keep that sort of thing for the Debating Hour, for goodness sake!"

I too like a good old debate/discussion once in a while so I'm not getting at you or anything, Poppy - I just suddenly remembered that passage!