Question about UK schools

[amari_z]

I suppose I could spend a couple of fun hours googling this, but I should probably spend that time actually writing, so I'll see if you, trusty flist, have any suggestions:

I need the name of a fancy public school that a wealthy/prestigious family would send their daughter to. It would also need to be a place that might take some scholarship students whose families could not pay full tuition. The more elite and snobbish the better. The women who attended the school would now be between about 30 to 35 years old. Any ideas?

Um, I suppose I could offer a prize for the answer I end up using, but it would only be fun for someone who is reading Resurrection. Okay, then, here’s the prize, should you choose to accept it: you get to pick Lillian Delaney’s school-girl nickname. (Make it a good one. ;) )

Comments

[darklyscarlett.livejournal.com]

I'll tthrow my hat in:

Queen Ethelburga's College, in York. I'm serious -- it's a real public school, with both boarders and day students. Fees cut by 40% for day students! You can bring your horse for free! It's co-ed, but the name is a winner.

Lillian Delaney's nickname was Boom-Boom, derived from a rather unfortunate fall from her horse during an national equestrian event (she bounced and hit her head twice -- once, against the barrier, and then on the ground). She had been leading in show jumping up to this final round. She lost to Zara Phillips.

[darklyscarlett.livejournal.com]

Ah shoot -- didn't read the second bit about the nickname being a prize. Sorry. Got carried away. Feel free to ignore that.

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the late response, but I got preoccupied by the entry above and then actually had to work and then left for the weekend.

I've only had a quick chance to look at the site, but I will say that it hurt me with its ugliness. I'll try to look past that. :p

Boom-Boom? Hee! I love it.

[darklyscarlett.livejournal.com]

Hah -- haven't gotten to update in three weeks, and so much has gone on. For one, my mother never made it into the country (something which she blames a hapless travel agent's assistant for -- it's a looong story, and she'll be back by Thanksgiving).

Shhh! I'm not making the wedding in Boston. In fact, I may not have a Labor Day weekend at all. Bill Clinton has been confirmed for 6 pm, Tuesday, September 4. We've had to bump Michael Palin to Saturday, the 8th. As my boss put it, "this has the potential to make Harry Potter look like an exercise in thumb twiddling."

Should I mention that I'll be coming off oral surgery the day of the first Secret Service walk?

BTW, Cheltenham is the premier ladies' boarding school. Poor Boom-Boom -- she would've been toast.

Alright, see you in a while!

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

Your mom isn't here? I was figuring you were off having fun crazy adventures with her. The super sekrit news is cool, if crazy for you (on my birthday, too--but I won't be in NYC :p)

I have to look at it a bit more, but I kind of like the idea of Cheltenham. Lil was not one of the rich girls, but she manged to claw her way the top of the pecking order despite that, despising the lot of them the whole way up.

[anitabuchan.livejournal.com]

I think Queen Ethelburga's College might win. But I have lived in Rugby, which has a private school. You used to see the students walking around in daft uniforms, and you knew when it was parent's day because of the number of helicopters arriving. The students used to get all sorts of special treatment: for example, in the cinema, if a coach of them were there, everyone else had to sit and wait for them to leave first. Because otherwise they might have to walk behind one of us commoners :).

But they did do scholarships, which were originally supposed to be for working class kids, but of course only upper-middle class kids could afford the tutors to help them pass the exams. And you were supposedly bullied if you didn't have your own swiming pool.

They were famous for drugs and shoplifting as well.

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

Haven't had a chance to look at it much yet, but it looks promising. I'll let you know if I end up going with it.

Thanks very much for the suggestion!

[starry-diadem.livejournal.com]

The two top boarding schools for girls are Roedean (http://www.roedean.co.uk/) and Cheltenham Ladies College (http://www.cheltladiescollege.org/welcome/index.asp)

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

These are really helpful, thanks. I haven't had much of a chance to look yet, but I think I'm leaning toward Cheltenham. Its website at least seems to have a bit more of the tone I was imagining.

[starry-diadem.livejournal.com]

Glad that it was useful. I owed you for the help you gave me with GJ!

The Ladies College is the classiest of the two, I think, from what little I know of them.