Kingsley School For Girls

A Memory of Horley.

Another time we had a 'new bug' . Her initiation dare was to go down the front stairwell. This was something pupils were NEVER allowed to do. We had to use the tiny, narrow, middle staircase.
Anyway, the girls in my dorm dared her to go down and into the 6th form common room...well after lights-out.
She was too frightened to go alone so, in a pathetic effort to be acknowledged and approved of, I offered to accompany her...so long as she did EXACTLY as I told her to!
That night, when all was quiet, we left our dorm and I told her to tiptoe lightly (SHE flat-footedly stomped!) across the old wooden landing to the front stairwell which was about 6ft wide with lovely carved wooden bannisters. We would then proceed, quietly and ALONG the wall so that the stairs would not creak.
Guess what she did? Yep, she ignored this and stomped down the centre of that old, creaky stairwell! Despite my hissing at her to change, she carried on. I think fear, excitement and adrenaline made her deaf!
Anyhow, Matron heard us, her, and naturally came out to investigate.
I ran down and hid under the stair in the darkness. What did she do? You guessed. She ran straight to the front porch...where a light beamed on her!
If that were not enough, when Matron espied her and called her back she did not go quietly...she called to me to come too!
To think I had already planned to wait for things to calm down before quietly returning to my dorm! That was MY stupidity.
Not surprising at all...this escapade did nothing to help me settle into that school nor make my relationship with my peers any more harmonious. I remained alone till I left that school aged 11.