Adrianne Fitzpatrick Knihy

When ten-year-old Robin Humphries is deemed too delicate to return to the Chalet School on the shores of the Tiernsee (despite its well-deserved reputation for making the health of its pupils the highest priority), the solution is obvious: open an Annexe on the Sonnalpe, close to the famous Sanatorium, to accommodate those girls who would benefit from closer medical supervision. A number of the younger and frailer members of the Chalet School are transferred to the new branch, along with a dozen or so new pupils. Three Old Girls—Juliet Carrick, Grizel Cochrane andGertrude Steinbrücke—are brought in as Staff, and the term looks set to be an exciting time for all. Not all of the girls are happy at being removed from the bustle of the main School, and tensions between the ‘old hands’ and the new girls run high; but they all soon learn that life on the mountain has its own excitements as well as rewards."The Chalet School Annexe" is set in the same term as "The Exploits of the Chalet Girls".

The Chalet School has been experiencing a difficult patch, as an unsatisfactory Head Girl has greatly weakened the influence of the Prefects. In the Third Form, young Betsy Lucy is determined to marshal her cohorts in defence of law and order—but what can she do, with the bulk of the Middles all set to resist authority to the top of their bent? Meanwhile, the two Headmistresses have reluctantly decided that a change of Head Girl is the only way forward, and Peggy Burnett finds herself with the unenviable task of re-establishing peaceful discipline in her final term at the School. Miss Wilson departs on an educational tour, leaving the Staff fully stretched, and Peggy has to contend with a split among the Prefects in addition to her other troubles. Add to this a new girl for the Third Form with something to hide, schoolgirl pranks and an all too thrilling half-term trip, and Betsy has her work cut out as she struggles to rally the younger girls in support of Peggy’s reforms. But right prevails in the end, and Betsy is recognised by all as a champion of the Chalet School.