Playing her way 2 - Chapter 8

© D.L.

The first stop of the tour was the library, which was close to the reception. A number of girls were quietly working at tables set up in the centre of the room. Along one side of the room, and on a mezzanine level above, stood bookshelves filled with books. A number of computer workstations were down another wall. One side of the double height room was glass. The final wall being the one to the corridor and reception area.

"At any point during the day, there is always some students who are on free study periods," Francine whispered so not to disturb the girls working. "When not in lessons, they can come here, go back to their rooms, or go to the canteen. During summer, they can find a quiet spot outside. The bottom floor is reference, the top floor is fiction. While most research is done online, and most girls read ebooks as well, the are a number of pupils who still prefer dead tree format."

Slipping back out into the corridor where they could talk, Liz asked, "I noticed several girls working in the office, are you on a free period yourself?"

"No, " Francine answered, "Most of the year elevens spend one day a week doing work experience. It depends on how many years we have been here, and therefore how far ahead we are. I actually sat half my GCSE's a year early. I now work Fridays in the office. Some of the girls moan that it's just the school employing slave labour, as they can use us instead of employing extra staff, to keep the costs down. Personally, I think it's a good idea, as it gives us a good feel of a real working environment, and it means the school can spend money on other things instead.

"Other jobs include kitchen duty, grounds maintenance, and being a librarian. Some girls work outside the school in the local town. One of the girls, who would like to go into law, even has a placement at the county courthouse in the city."

Francine pointed out the canteen as they passed, "We will come back here later for lunch so that you can taste what our food is like. Meals are done in two sittings, Years 9 to 11 have breakfast first, at seven a.m., the lower years are half an hour later, so they don't have to get up quite as early. Lessons start promptly at 7:45.

"We have two, one-hour lessons with a five-minute gap in between. While teachers won't stop you going to the toilet if needed, they prefer you wait until the swap over point. Five minutes allows enough time to nip back to your room to change books, visit the on-suite bathroom if needed, and grab a drink. We are allowed to take drinks into classrooms. Drinking plenty of fluids is encouraged, as long as it doesn't result in constant interruptions to go pee.

"We have a longer twenty-minute break between second and third period. There are another two periods before dinner, which is 12:30 until 2:00 pm. The younger years go in first, this is so that they have longer after eating to sleep before the afternoon lessons. Power-napping is encouraged, especially for younger students, due to the length of the day.

"Lessons start again at two, the fifth period usually being some form of physical activity. It depends on how far you are ahead in your studies, and what subjects you are taking. The minimum is three sessions a week, but over half the girls take all five. There are two gymnasia," Francine stated as the pair emerged onto a balcony running down one side of a large sports hall set up with two indoor netball courts side by side. The room was currently empty.

Stepping back out into the corridor they had come from, they crossed over to the other side and entered a similar sized room. This time they were overlooking a room filled with various gymnastics equipment. As well as floor mats, climbing ropes, balance beams, springboards, and a trampoline, the room was half full of exercise machines. A line of rowing machines sat in front of a row of static cycles. Five of machines were in use.

Continuing down the long corridor, three squash courts were on the left-hand side, and three indoor tennis courts sat opposite. The end of the corridor emerged out onto a viewing platform over the full sized swimming pool.

"As you can see, the facilities don't get much use in the mornings. There are a few girls who like to exercise before breakfast, which is allowed. The girls in there at the moment are on a study period. We get study periods instead of homework. I actually do that myself, you can get almost as much reading done on an exercise bike as sat at a desk.

"Some activities, such as horse riding, are done throughout the day in order to fit everybody in. If you do horse riding, then you have to use the fifth period for studying instead of sports.

"I won't bother showing you around the sports fields, as the weather isn't particularly nice, we will drive past them to get to the stables.

"We are expected to show up at our designated activity suitably clothed. Most girls change in their own rooms, except for the day students, who use the changing facilities downstairs. There is a quarter hour break before the next lesson to allow students to go back to their rooms to shower and change. The other exception is the swimming pool, you can walk to the pool in a swimming costume, but you have shower and change in the wet change rooms here. We're not allowed to trail water all the way back to the dorms."

"Understandable," Liz replied. The facilities were certainly impressive.

"We then have two more lessons, 15:15 to 16:15 and 16:20 to 17:20. Followed by tea, which usually consists of sandwiches made with meat left over from dinner, with options for cheese and biscuits, salad, crisps, cakes, ice cream. Pretty much whatever you want."

Leaving the sports building still on the upper floor, they walked across a covered bridge over an access road to another building.

Stopping at the heavy wooden door, Francine stopped to say, "It might be noisy in here. If so, we won't stay. We need to go downstairs to the garage."

Walking in through a double set of doors, they came into the woodworking shop. Five girls of various ages and a teacher were in the room, each working on different activities. The teacher was overseeing one of the eldest using a fierce looking band saw to rip planks down in size.

A second girl was using a lathe to turn a thick chunk of wood. She was copying from a photo pinned up on the wall of a round table with a single central turned leg.

A younger girl was plaining a piece of wood by hand in a vice. Another was applying cane to the seat of a chair, weaving the dampened wood before holding it in place in the holes with golf tees, which would be replaced by thin dowels once complete.

The final girl was at a fume cupboard, using an air gun to apply polish to a decorative box.

Francine led Liz through another door, and down a set of stairs.

"We all get to make a jewellery box at some point. If you take up woodwork for a subject, then you usually get to design and make a piece of furniture. I made a chair three years ago as part of my A-level in cabinet making. Unlike normal schools, that concentrate on core subjects then allow you to specialise in your final few years, our education is tailored to the individual. That way, you can choose to do a subject at a younger age, and if you are good enough, you will get entered for the exam.

"I already have GCSE's in Maths, Geography, General Studies, History, and Home Economics. Mr Jackson thought my work was of a good enough quality, so I ended up doing the exam for the A-level instead of the GCSE, I only found out that I would be taking the higher level test a few minutes before the exam was due to commence.

"This year I just need to pass English Language, English Literature, Science, and Business studies. They are the only subjects I know take."

Reaching the ground floor, they stepped into what appeared to be a mechanics workshop. An old car was hoisted into the air on a lifting platform. The wheels were off. Three girls were busy, one at each wheel. An elder gentleman was stood leaning against a bench, watching.

"Hi, Mr Andrews," Francine declared. "I'm showing Mrs Roberts around, her daughter might be joining year 8 in September."

"Welcome to the workshop, I won't shake hands, as they are a bit oily," the teacher declared. "I teach various disciplines related to mechanics and metal working. I also do driving instruction. These girls are replacing the brakes. I've done the first wheel, now they have to do the others."

"Can I borrow a vehicle?" Francine asked, "I would like to show Mrs Roberts the stables."

"Sure, you can take the Fiesta," Mr Andrews stated, taking a set of car keys from a key safe on the wall. I hope you don't mind being driven by a fifteen-year-old, I can assure you she is perfectly capable and is capable of passing a driving test. It's one of the optional courses we offer. Although none of our students are old enough to obtain a licence, as long as their feet reach the pedals, we allow them to learn."

After watching the girls finish their task, and discussing some of the other vocational courses available, Francine led Liz outside to an older Ford Fiesta.

It felt very strange to be driven by somebody so young, but there were no other vehicles on the road as they drove the half mile across the grounds to the stables.

They parked up outside of a very old looking set of buildings. What caught Liz's eye was the miniature railway that terminated opposite where they had parked. A small diesel locomotive was hooked up to ten carriages, each capable of seating four people.

"That's how we normally get over here," Francine explained. "It can seat forty students. Normally we wouldn't have more than a half-dozen students here at any one time, but it also stops at the playing fields. It can take a while to walk down to some of the further fields, and while a lot of girls do walk down during their lunch break, others opt for the train. Its main benefit is at the end of the period when we are all exhausted. We can get back to the main complex quickly unless you make the mistake of missing the train out, in which case you have to grab a bike to get over to where you are going on time, and you then have to cycle back again, as the bikes have to be returned."

Two of the horses were in the stables. After making a fuss of each, they went and stood at the side of the field to watch. A two-on-two game of polo was in progress, with an adult on horseback acting as referee. After spending ten minutes watching, Francine signalled it was time to move on.

"We need to make one more stop before the end of the third period," Francine explained as they drove back.

On arriving, they parked back outside the workshops. Francine then led Liz down to another building. Pausing outside, they looked into one of the classrooms through the window. It was a science lab and the girls were at their desks. Each had a beaker half filled with liquid. Sticking into each was two metal rods with wires coming out.

"Learning about batteries?" Liz inquired.

"No, I don't think so, those things the wires are connected to are power supplies, looks more like copper plating to me," Francine replied.

"Looks like we have a visitor today," Abby stated looking out the window of her English class. She was sat at the window of the building opposite the science lab, on the upper of two floors.

Emily looked up from her book and leant over so that she could see the two people stood outside. She smiled as she watched her aunt follow Francine into the building opposite.

"We've potentially got a guest speaker next period, in business studies," Tracy replied.

"Oh, do they know they are a guest speaker?" Abby asked.

"I doubt it. I believe this is a potential student parent, as opposed to a parent of someone here," Tracy answered.

Emily went back to her book. Her next lesson was Music. She would have a ten-minute session with the tutor, then she would be heading into one of the practice rooms. However, instead of continuing to practice, she would be in a recording session for YouTube. She had arranged to stay in the room for the first half of lunch, only going down to the canteen when given the all clear via text message from Wendy.

"Welcome to the maths department," Francine stated as they entered the room.

The setup of the room surprised Liz, as it wasn't a typical classroom. The first difference was the furniture. Instead of the typical plastic seating seen in most schools, the students were sitting in quality office chairs around three conference tables, each with eight seats giving a maximum of 24 places. Twelve students were dotted around the room. The was no black or white boards, and no position for a teacher. It wasn't even possible to determine if there was a 'front' of the room.

Instead, there were three side rooms with partial glass walls so the occupants were visible. The largest of which had three desks, each with two chairs arranged in a 'U' shape around a white board. Four students were currently in the side room with a teacher demonstrating solving an equation on the board.

In a second side room, an adult and student were in deep conversation. The third room contained two students who were busy working on computers. Liz noted that the PC's didn't have visible keyboards, but instead the students were using stylus inputs.

The other noticeable thing was that the ages of the people in the room seemed to vary drastically.

"As you have probably noticed," Francine stated, "A lot of the lessons here aren't arranged by the age of the students, in fact, we mix people from different years where we can. Schooling is supposed to prepare you for the workplace, and you don't have people all the same age in most workplaces.

"This is the main working area, where we basically get on with the work we have been set by the teachers. Mr Harris is the main teacher, and he will take up to six students at a time into the side room to teach a concept, Mrs Moore does one on one sessions with whoever needs further explanation. She tries to see everybody at least once a week.

"Everybody has their own work plan and works at their own pace. If you are a fast worker, then you can opt to switch out some of your core subject lessons with alternative courses. Once you have been taught a concept, you have to practice it until you can consistently solve the problems set, then you can do a test, which if you pass, you can then move onto something else. The two in the side room over there are most likely doing tests"

"They are," one of the students stated, "Stacy is doing Stats 4, Mary is doing Trig 5."

Francine nodded before continuing, "Maths is where this style and layout works the best. We also use this layout in other subjects like History, Geography, and to a slightly lesser extent English. Where we use a more traditional approach is in science, as it is more practical to have a larger group doing the same experiment. We also have a large number of potential courses that students can do, so sometimes we have lessons where every student is doing a different unique course. That tends to happen more in the later years, where long term students have already passed GCSE's earlier than normal."

Liz spent the final few minutes of the lesson talking with the students in the room about how they found the style of lessons. The two teachers came out of the side room shortly before the end of the period and joined the discussion. They continued the discussion through the five-minute break until the start of the next period.

When the bell went Francine shew Liz to the now deserted bathroom, before stopping at a hot drink vending machine in the corridor. A short walk later Francine opened the door to a classroom with a very similar layout to the maths department. However, the side rooms were not in use, and instead, all 21 students and two teachers sat chairs in a circle around a mobile whiteboard. The tables had been stacked at one side of the room.

"Welcome, Mrs Roberts, I'm Mr Pyke, and this is the business studies department. I teach the accountancy and book-keeping side, and Mr Wilson, specialises in the subjects of human resources and law," one of the teachers introduced himself as Francine took a seat to the side. "We have a slight tradition here at St. Mary's of putting visitors on the spot. When we have a professional in our midst, we like to take advantage of their expertise in educating our students. I've been informed you're a qualified charted accountant. Would you be willing to discuss some of the work you do, and perhaps give your professional opinion to some of the example exercises we have?"

"I wondered what Mrs Rogers had in mind when she asked me if I minded participating in a lesson," Liz replied. "Very well, my name is Liz Rogers, and I'm a management accountant. My primary role is in the preparation of end of year accounts for small businesses. Basically preparing Balance Sheets and Profit and Loss statements. My particular specialism is in filing tax returns. There are some very complex rules about what costs can be claimed against for tax purposes."

"Thank you," Mr Pyke stated, shaking hands with Liz, "that was very informative."

The impromptu lesson seemed to go well, and although unexpected, Liz enjoyed the interaction with the students. After saying goodbye to the students the bell rang for lunch. Francine led Liz back to the canteen.

"If we head straight to the canteen, we should be near the head of the queue," Francine stated," as most students drop their books back in their rooms first."

Entering the canteen that Liz had briefly seen earlier they went over to the serving area.

"It's a carvery day today," Francine stated as they joined the back of the queue, "We have carvery three or four days a week, but the meats on offer vary each time. We always have a carvery on Sundays. Looks like today is either beef, chicken or gammon, or a slice of each if you want. Alternatively, the vegetarian option is Quorn toad in the hole.

"Every other Friday is fish and chips, although there is always at least three options, one of which is vegetarian. We do have what some people considered junk food, like burgers, chips, and pizza, but that is limited to two days a week. Mostly it's meat and veg or things like shepherds pie, cornish pasties, or things like that. Pasta and rice dishes also make appearances. At least once a fortnight we have a foreign cuisine day. So far this term we have had Chinese, Thia, and Italian. I think next week we have Mexican.

"Breakfast is either cereal, toast, croissants or a full English if you want it. I think I mentioned tea is sandwiches, salads, soups and such."

Francine opted for beef, while Liz chose for the gammon, each opting for a Yorkshire pudding. They both took some each of the vegetables on offer. Roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots, french beans, and a spoonful of cauliflower, before collecting some gravy.

After collecting drinks, both opting for tea from the various hot and cold drinks on offer, they proceeded to the last station on the line. Francine placed her tray on a shelf then leant over a tablet mounted above. After taking a credit card size piece of plastic with a QR code printed on it from her blazer pocket, she placed it on the tray next to her meal then tapped the tablet screen. An audible click was heard, and Francine removed her tray.

"You don't need to do that," she indicated for Liz to follow her, "It takes a photo of what we are having. The nurse reviews what we are eating at least once a month. We have regular weight and height checks. If anybody is over or under what they should be, then they have to either eat more or diet. Our health is taken seriously. We have had a few cases of anorexia over the years, which is why food and exercise are closely monitored. It might seem intrusive at first, but you get used to it, and the benefits outway the criticisms."

The pair went over to a table where Mrs Rogers was sitting with a group of three girls. There were two places left. Liz noted that the teachers seemed to be dotted around the room amongst the students and not sitting together by themselves.

"Hi Mrs Roberts, nice to see you again," a tall girl with short hair greeted the visitor.

"Wendy, isn't it," Liz responded. "We met at Susan's birthday party."

Wendy nodded, "To my left is Julia, and this is Svetlana."

The occupants of the table were not a co-incidence. These were the girls who knew Emily's secret, and it allowed them to talk about Wendy, Susan and Becky without Emily getting mentioned. Although few people knew about Becky, Susan had previously visited the school, and her connections to Emily and Wendy was known.

"I'm hoping to see Susan in February," Wendy stated. "I'm staying with my father in Scotland over Christmas, so won't be able to see her then. Hopefully, if her mother agrees, Susan will be paying me a visit at the February half term. Don't mention it to her, though, as the train tickets are part of her Christmas present."

"Quite a few students stay for the half term breaks," Mrs Rogers explained. "We usually arrange some fun activities for those who remain. We also allow students to invite family or friends to stay, while we have some spare beds, although this is limited. Girls who are potential students get priority. Becky would be welcome to visit, it would be good for her to see what she is getting into before a final decision is made."

"I will have to speak with my husband," Liz stated, "It would be a good idea, especially if Susan is here as well. Becky is a bit shy around new people. One of the reasons she has been using against going to boarding school is that she won't know anybody."

"We are working on fixing that," Wendy stated, "if we can raise enough money and can persuade Susan to accept a sponsorship to attend next year. Susan and Becky may even be able to share a room."

Emily's earning were higher than she initially expected, and she had potentially enough income to pay for Susan's tuition fees. Having become friends with several of the other students, there were several other students willing to top of Emily's contribution, including Wendy.

The school usually offered a discount where multiple siblings were in attendance. Mrs Rogers had approval from the board to apply that discount to the three cousins. As the school was getting a cut of the money Emily earnt via YouTube, they had a vested interest in keeping her happy. The deal was part of the discussions allowing her to attend in the first place, and compensation for the special arrangements made so that she could continue to make videos and earn money without the other students finding out.

"Susan has visited here before, and knows a number of the girls," Mrs Rogers explained, "She is in regularly contact with them over skype. Some of the girls have decided to do some fundraising to bring her here. The are also some grants available to help educate children from disadvantaged and low-income backgrounds, which Susan might qualify for."

"She won't be the first," Julia added, "The are a couple of girls here who wouldn't be here without help from their friends."

Svetlana countered, "Although, mostly that has been when they were already students and their parents couldn't afford to keep them here, so we had whip rounds so that they could stay."

"Says the girl who pays for another student to be here so that she doesn't have to make her own bed or do her own laundry," Julia snarked, causing Svetlana to blush.

"The girls are supposed to look after themselves," Mrs Rogers clarified, "They are responsible for keeping their dorms clean, and have to take their clothes to be washed. Each floor has its own laundry room with washing machines and tumble dryers. They are also taught how to use an iron, although younger girls are supervised. The rooms are regularly inspected, as are the girl's presentation. Turning up to lessons in creased or dirty clothes is not allowed.

"However, some girls really hate laundry duty, so have come up with ways around the rules, such as paying someone else to do it for them. I allow it to a certain extent, as I don't want to deny the opportunity for the less well off students to earn extra spending money, but I will intervene if I think they are being taken advantage of, are being bullied into it, it interferes with their schoolwork, or it takes up all their free time."

After dessert, Francine led Liz up to the dormitories as Wendy texted Emily that the coast was clear for entering the dining room.

Emily had finished her recording session and had returned to her room to drop off her gear. Francine's room was in the opposite direction from the canteen. The accommodation being split over three separate buildings around the grounds.

Francine pointed out the laundry room, having being reminded of it at lunch. They also toured the small kitchenette that contained an instant hot water tap, fridge and microwave that the girls could use for preparing drinks and snacks, which were allowed but monitored.

A small common room with couches and a TV was also present if the girls didn't want to be in their own rooms in the evenings. Liz was also shown the shared bathroom, the rooms only having on suite toilets and showers. Any girls wanting a bath instead of a shower had to book a slot in the shared facilities.

The next part of the tour was Francine's bedroom, which was one of the single occupancy rooms. After showing off the size of the room, and the school supplied furniture, along with the chair that Francine had made herself in the school workshop, they proceeded down the corridor to another room. Knocking on the door, they were shown in by one of the two year eleven girls currently living in there.

Having been shown the accommodation, Liz was led back to the reception via the music department. The range of instruments and associated facilities could now be demonstrated since Emily was no longer hiding there.

After another discussion with the headmistress, Liz left the grounds thoroughly impressed with the school and wondering if she could convince her daughter to attend and her husband to agree to pay for it.