AustLit

A story telling of the term spent at Winterton School in Australia by Althea St. George, an attractive girl from England whose father is the Earl of Lannon. Lesley Douglas is convinced that Althea will be a snob, and is unkind to her until she discovers that not only was Althea's brother killed at war, but her mother also died in the London Blitz and that far from being wealthy, Althea and her father have become destitute. It becomes apparent that Althea's father and Lesley's father were old school friends, and the two girls begin a friendship as their fathers rekindle theirs.

'We meet again Wendy Murphy, the heroine of With Wendy at Winterton School, who has now become head prefect.' (Dust jacket)

During a drought, Margaret's father must reduce the family's expenses. Margaret dreads leaving Wirra Wirra, the private school that she loves, to attend the local high school. But her generous eighteen-year-old brother, Bob, gives up his University studies in medicine to join the Air Force.

After Bob's death at the front, Margaret meets a naval friend of her brother who invites her to tour his ship. Margaret suffers a fall and lies unconscious in the hold for two days until the ship is torpedoed and she wakes to find herself in a life boat in the Pacific Ocean. Shipwrecked with five naval castaways, Margaret applies all of the courage and faith she learned at 'Wirra Wirra'. When they reach an island, she is surprised to find that Bob has not been killed in battle, but made his way to an island after his plane went down. Bob uses his medical knowledge to save a colleague and they are finally rescued by an American battleship.

Bob brings back with him a sample of berries that arrest haemorrhage and receives a hefty monetary reward that enables him to return to University to become a doctor. Margaret is named Head-Prefect at Wirra Wirra.

According to Bonza Schooldays, 'With Wendy at Winterton School follows Wendy's progression from a rebellious new girl to a valued member of the school [...] Wendy, the daughter of a butcher, is initially concerned the school will be full of snobs, showing her dislike for Felicity, the Head Prefect. When the Head compares Wendy's disloyalty to that of war traitors, Wendy begins to change her attitude and reconciles with Felicity, realising her error in judgement.'

Rachel Crawford at Bonza Schooldays writes that 'Pam's "debt" is a promise to the man, Captain Harvey, who saved the life of her P.O.W. father, to look after his daughter, Janita, who is starting as a new girl at Pam's school. Pam has a difficult time with Janita, who is shallow and spoilt, and finds herself torn between her best friend Judy and her duty to look after Janita. Matters come to a head when Pam is caught at a nightclub during a police raid.' In fact, Pam was trying to keep Janita from misbehaving at the time.

Source: Bonza Schooldays (http://www.bonzaschooldays.com/2009/08/dora-joan-potter-joan-potter.html)