For the School Colours

"For the School Colours" by Angela Brazil is a novel written in the early 20th century, most likely during the time when school stories for girls were popular. The narrative revolves around Avelyn Watson, a new girl at Silverside, a boarding school that finds itself struggling with the influx of students from a rival school, The Hawthorns. Striking a note of school dynamics, friendship, and competition, the story explores how Avelyn and her classmates navigate their changing social landscape. The opening of the book introduces us to the tumultuous atmosphere at Silverside as the existing boarders express their discontent about the arrival of their new classmates from The Hawthorns. In the first chapter, Avelyn is introduced as she enters her new dormitory, where she is confronted with the tension between established boarders and the newcomers. The existing students, particularly Laura and Irma, voice their outrage over the unexpected changes, leading to a sense of rivalry and the establishment of group identities. As the story unfolds, the dynamics of this rivalry promise to create a rich backdrop for Avelyn’s personal journey in this new environment, emphasizing themes of belonging, loyalty, and the clash of traditions. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Angela Brazil was one of the first British writers of "modern schoolgirls' stories", written from the characters' point of view and intended primarily as entertainment rather than moral instruction. In the first half of the 20th century she published nearly 50 books of girls' fiction, the vast majority being boarding school stories. She also published numerous short stories in magazines.