Summer Term at St Clare's recap

Pat and Isabel return late to St Clare's and join a first form unsettled by several contrasting newcomers. Bobby's clever pranks repeatedly test school discipline, Prudence pursues useful friendships through flattery and deceit, and Carlotta's temper and unexplained acrobatic skill conceal a circus upbringing. Prudence exposes Carlotta, but the form accepts her. Bobby loses a tennis opportunity because she will not train, then eventually commits herself to serious work. Prudence's cheating places her future at school in doubt, and her scheming contributes to Sadie following a false message into an abduction. Carlotta's circus contacts rescue Sadie. At term's end Prudence must leave, Sadie returns to America, Pamela recovers under Carlotta's friendship but stays in the first form because of her age, and the other continuing pupils advance. Bobby's reform is confirmed by strong results in lessons and sport.

Previously: Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan are twins and established pupils at St Clare's, where their cousin Alison is also in the first form. Their former classmates Lucy Oriell and Margery have now progressed to the second form. Lucy's place at school had been threatened after her father's accident, while Margery has developed into one of St Clare's leading tennis players. As the summer term begins, Pat and Isabel expect to continue their own progress toward promotion.

So far this book: A quarantine makes Pat and Isabel a week late for the summer term. They return to find Lucy and Margery in the second form and several new personalities reshaping their old class. Alison is absorbed in her friendship with wealthy American newcomer Sadie Greene. Carlotta Brown is quick-tempered and weak in lessons, Pamela Boardman is exceptionally young and scholarly, and Prudence Arnold advertises her good behavior while cultivating classmates who may help her. Bobby, Janet's athletic and mischievous new friend, has ability but little patience for sustained work. Miss Roberts tells the twins that promotion is within reach if they recover their lost ground. As the form improves under her demanding standards, Bobby engineers a false message that removes Miss Roberts from a lesson, then alters the classroom clock to avoid a test. The trick succeeds, encouraging Bobby and Janet to consider a more ambitious deception, while Prudence's objections deepen the hostility between them.

So far this book: Bobby helps Janet escape a punishment by fabricating a request for extra coaching and copying Janet's assigned work. Prudence spots the matching handwriting, and Miss Roberts uncovers the deception. Janet and Bobby are punished and warned, while Prudence draws closer to Pamela by flattering her intelligence and seeking help with lessons. Carlotta's difficulties in class contrast with exceptional gymnastic, diving, and riding skills. Prudence follows her to a circus camp, learns that she has a circus connection, and keeps the discovery for leverage. Hilary urges Carlotta to control her temper, but Carlotta will say only that a promise keeps her at St Clare's. A frog prank then provokes Prudence into calling her a circus girl during French. Carlotta defies and insults Mam'zelle, bringing an inquiry from Miss Roberts. Bobby accepts responsibility for starting the incident, Carlotta apologizes after meeting Miss Theobald, and Prudence must also apologize. Carlotta's history and the promise behind her stay remain unexplained, while Prudence intends to investigate further.

So far this book: Prudence questions a man at the circus camp and then announces Carlotta's past to the form, expecting the revelation to isolate her. Carlotta confirms that her Spanish mother took her into circus life and later died, after which her wealthy father found her and sent her to school. The girls respond with admiration, leaving Prudence more isolated instead. Miss Theobald asks Carlotta to show that she can adjust to her new life at St Clare's. Meanwhile, Belinda Towers offers Bobby the chance to train for the reserve place in the first-form tennis team. Bobby repeatedly refuses the necessary work, so Janet receives the place. During the interschool matches, Margery and Lucy win decisively for the second form. Isabel then twists her ankle in the first-form match and Janet replaces her, but Janet and Pat lose because they have not trained as partners. Bobby recognizes that her own refusal to practise cost her the chance to step in and may have cost the team a victory. Isabel's injury is expected to heal quickly, but Bobby ends the numbered story dissatisfied with her habitual lack of effort.

After Sadie is lured from school by a false message, two men abduct her. Carlotta uses her local knowledge and circus connections to arrange an interception, and the circus people recover Sadie unharmed apart from bruising. Miss Theobald informs the police and decides that Prudence must leave St Clare's when term ends. Sadie's mother also plans to take Sadie back to America, separating her from Alison. Bobby's decision to apply herself survives the rest of term, bringing academic and sporting success. Carlotta helps Pamela recover from illness and overwork, while Pamela remains in the first form because she is younger. Pat, Isabel, Alison, Janet, Hilary, Carlotta, and the other continuing girls advance to the second form under Miss Jenks. Margery and Lucy remain established there, while Prudence and Sadie do not return.