Lowewood Academy

Lady Juliet Aston-Beresford, Head Girl, Upper Sixth, Dashwood House

It came as no surprise to Juliet when she was made Head Girl of Lowewood Academy – something she has been building up to since her first year at Lowewood Academy. She has the brains, the beauty, the extra-curricular activities and the organisational talent.  Besides, she had no doubt that after a year with a scholarship girl at the helm that the governors and headmaster were eager to return to the status quo and appoint someone with a family background suitable for such high office.

It did come as a surprise to Juliet when she was notified that she was moving across from Sandwich House to Dashwood House, the most ill-disciplined house (in her humble opinion) at Lowewood. Mr Shaftebotham has ensured her that various departures in the Upper Sixth have necessitated some house changes, which Juliet reluctantly accepts, given that all her friends are in Sandwich House, especially her best friend, Sibella Mayhew.

Only daughter of Viscount Northwood, The Earl of Richmond and Lady Virginia of North Yorkshire and hailing from a vast pile near the North Yorkshire village of Northallerton, Juliet has been raised to a life of wealth and all the privileges it bestows. Juliet excels at her lessons, has school colours in hockey, gymnastics, athletics and equestrianism, is the leader of the Lowewood Orchestra and first violin, a member of the school quiz team and a leader in the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
She is a firm believer in discipline, respect and obedience and intends to instil rather more of it in Dashwood House than was known under the last incumbent.

Email: Juliet@lowewood-academy.co.uk

Claudia Delamere, Upper Sixth, Dashwood House
Claudia Delamere, along with her identical twin sister, Gabrielle, has been at Lowewood throughout her secondary education.  She now enters the upper sixth with a full six years’ hard-won knowledge of the school, and life in Dashwood House, at her disposal. 

The twins have actually been boarders since prep school, as their parents serve abroad in the diplomatic corps so cannot bring the girls up at home.  Their fees are covered by the government and Claudia’s allowance is generous, despite not being one of the young aristocracy which Lowewood attracts.  She sees her parents infrequently though, and at times has felt rather adrift and lonely, which has contributed to her attention-seeking and often rebellious behaviour.  During most holidays, the Delameres stay with their aunt (one) and uncles (two), experiencing a variety of disciplinary regimes in the process.  They have no other siblings but three cousins through their Aunt and Uncle Craven (Mrs Delamere’s older brother).  During their lower sixth year, twin Gabby engaged in a torrid affair with her year-younger cousin, Josh, which brought them all plenty of trouble away from Lowewood.

Claudia (and therefore also Gabrielle) is tall (now 5′8″) and willowy with long light brown hair and dark soulful eyes.  She and Gabby are extremely hard to tell apart, a fact which they’ve used to good effect on plenty of occasions.  However, for all their physical similarities, the twins aren’t joined at the hip and have plenty of friends and interests independent of one another. 

Claudia’s strengths at Lowewood lie in the sporting field, where she has now won her first team Colours for hockey, netball, gymnastics, athletics and tennis.  Her academic interests focus on geography, economics and languages, and she harbours ambitions of following her parents into the diplomatic service once her schooling is completed.  She isn’t strongly academic, though, and has had ongoing problems with the maths master, Dr Blake, in particular.  Whilst Gabby is the more studious, Claudia is outgoing, boisterous on occasions and has attracted as many stripes as she has stars in her Lowewood career to date.  Her lower sixth year included both a trip to Mr Shaftebotham’s office and an appearance before the infamous Prefects’ Council.  Given her disciplinary record, it was no surprise when she failed to make the cut as one of the new batch of prefects in her final year.  However, interestingly, her sister has made the grade…
Email: Claudia@lowewood-academy.co.uk

Faye Dennington-Glass, Upper Sixth, Dashwood House
Faye hails from the leafy banality of middle-class suburbia and is the unfortunate daughter of a scarily competitive, social-climbing mother, who insists on reminding her on an almost daily basis that she sacrificed several holidays to the Maldives in order to get her into Lowewood. This was an ‘honour’ that Faye neither wanted nor asked for but for which she has since become very grateful: being at boarding school is actually a big improvement from being at home.

Despite her mother’s desire that she excel in the arts and other ‘feminine’ subjects, Faye has shown an irritating tendency to be good at biology. She loves animals (especially Dai, the Lowewood llama!), nature and being outside and her one ambition in life is to be a vet.

Although not purposely bad, Faye often finds herself in trouble due to her unfortunate habit of opening her mouth without considering the consequences, along with an increasingly apparent lack of self-restraint when it comes to her dealings with the opposite sex. Nevertheless she does try to be good… but she only occasionally succeeds!

Her unfortunate tendency to fall at the last hurdle has seen her on the wrong end of a cane more than once and probably explains why she was hastily overlooked for prefectship this year but, in general, she enjoys her time at Lowewood and feels that the fun time spent with her closest friends (and – this year – with her adorable little sister Jo-Jo) more than makes up for the time she spends bent over various pieces of furniture.

Email: Faye@lowewood-academy.co.uk

Edmund (Ned) Corwin, Prefect, Upper Sixth, Dashwood House
Edmund Corwin, known to most people as Ned, is entering his second year at Lowewood with his head held high. (Though not so high that he might trip: Ned isn’t one for putting on airs.) Just a year ago, his placement at the school was an afterthought: an illegitimate son of the 24th Earl of Ashberry, he was sent here to keep an eye on his half-sister Lavinia Sinclair, who was starting her first year. This year he will have to split his attention between Lavinia and their second sister, Celeste.

Ned has done a lot of growing up in the year he’s spent in the Lower Sixth. He learned to see through the tricks of his adored little sister (who has been compared by staff to a miniature Don Corleone), polished away the chip on his shoulder in regard of his parentage, and learned to think for himself in a time of crisis - or so he likes to believe.

Being made a prefect has cemented this newly found self-assuredness. Ned’s only experience of being in authority was an experiment in domination of his short-time girlfriend Violet Kynaston (now in the Lower Sixth), for which he found little taste, but he thinks even this little bit of practice will help when it comes to his prefect’s duties.

Email: Ned@lowewood-academy.co.uk

Philippa (Pippa) Beaumont, Prefect, Upper Sixth, Dashwood House
Philippa Beaumont is the fifth and youngest child of Lord and Lady Beaumont of Cropston. Having been at boarding school since the age of 3 she is now well-accustomed to the trials and tribulations (and joys) of being educated away from home. A bright, funny and quick-witted girl, she is almost an all-rounder… Almost. Pippa is still to sports what Mao was to democracy, despite a freakish blip one day in July 2008.

Having passed the trials set by her father (representing Lowewood at sports and becoming a prefect), Pippa has managed to break the family tradition of the girls being married off at 18 into a life of housewifery, and hopes to achieve her ambition of securing a University place beginning in the autumn of 2009. Until then, she expects to spend her final year at Lowewood continuing diligently with her academic work, exercising her rights and responsibilities as Deputy House Captain of Dashwood, and of course enjoying her burgeoning relationship with her first love, Alex ap Iorwerth.

Email: Philippa@lowewood-academy.co.uk

Henry (Harry) Mallinson, Prefect, Upper Sixth, Dashwood House
Harry is the only son of Brigadier Jeremy Mallinson (late of the King’s Royal Hussars).  Harry’s mother died when he was three and Harry has been a boarder since the age of seven.  He despises his step-mother (she is only 25) and idolizes his father.  Harry is ‘army-barmy’, obsessed by all things military.  He has become Cadet Warrant Officer in the Lowewood CCF and takes his responsibilities very seriously indeed.  In fact Harry takes life very seriously indeed - he has no discernable sense of humour.    He believes in discipline and order and is relishing the idea of being a prefect.  To go into Harry’s bedroom is to enter a world of Spartan neatness.  Books stand to attention in alphabetical order, every item in his wardrobe is clean and pressed, his shoes polished to a mirror shine.  Harry is a keen sportsman, rugby and hockey being his main sports.  In the rugby team he is a fast and aggressive winger. He will often be seen running around the Lowewood grounds in full military kit, complete with weighted rucksack.  Harry stands about 5’8” tall, he has piercing blue eyes and fair hair which he has long on top and short at the back and sides. He is not a big guy – he is shorter than many in his year but has a tough wiry build and is much stronger than he appears.

Harry has made few friends during his first year at Lowewood. He is not openly disliked but people are wary of his intensity and the latent aggression that they can detect just below the surface.

Harry is not impressed with the poor standards of many of his Lowewood peers and juniors and is looking forward to applying the school rules with utmost vigour.

Email: Harry@lowewood-academy.co.uk

Cassandra Abbotts, Lower Sixth, Dashwood House
Cassandra (Cassie) is the third child of General Charles Abbotts, who retired from the military when she was three, which led to subsequent divorce with Cassie’s mother, Clare upon the realisation that they were actually unable to live together.  Being the only girl amongst three brothers gave Cassie a somewhat late start in developing a feminine mystique, though she is sure the raft building and rugby tackle will come in handy at some point.  An ardent supporter of corporal punishment for his sons, Charles felt it was inappropriate to spank his daughter, the staff and prefects at Lowewood have no such reservations much to Cassie’s dismay, as she and trouble are somewhat synonymous.

Upon finishing prep school at Kings in Rochester (where the Abbotts men have gone for generations) Cassie’s grandmother felt compelled to remind her son that his third child was in fact a girl, not a boy and insisted that she be enrolled at a school which would endeavour to impart suitable behaviour for a young lady.  Lowewood have been doing their utmost since Cassie joined in the third form but she remains an incurable tomboy.  She has little interest or aptitude for Etiquette, Home Economics or Dance, is slightly accident prone and despite best efforts rarely succeeds in keeping her shirt tucked in or tie straight.

Cassie is naturally bright but applies herself somewhat erratically.  She has however promised her father to extend her efforts across the curriculum as she moves into the sixth form.  She likes Maths, which she finds easy, and History, Geography, the Sciences and French which she finds interesting.  English, Classics and Economics bore her and she has a long-standing feud with Herr Rohrstock, the head of German.  Cassie has a somewhat ‘laissez faire’ attitude towards academia and discipline and despite learning that the subsequent consequences may be painful, rarely allows this to act as a deterrent for the pursuit of fun.

Cassie’s favourite pastimes at Lowewood are those which take her outdoors and she competes on the Hockey, Rowing, Cross-Country and Athletics teams.  She trains very hard to emulate her adored elder brothers, indeed many teachers have commented that if she could match this ardour in the classroom she would be a first class student.  She also plays tenor saxophone in the Swing Band and participates in the Duke of Edinburgh Award, mostly because it gets her out of school grounds!  Recently she has begun to develop an interest in boys, which she finds somewhat confusing but a pursuit which she hopes will play an increased role during her sixth form education.  Her closest friends are Seraphina Townsend, Chloe Lansbury and Lily Peveril, all of Dashwood, who share both her sporting interest and house loyalties.

Email: Cassandra@lowewood-academy.co.uk

Seraphina Townsend, Lower Sixth, Dashwood House
Seraphina’s education saw a major upheaval two years ago, when she was uprooted from her nice, normal local grammar school and sent away to Lowewood to continue her schooling.  This occurred shortly after her father, successful businessman Sir Ivan Townsend, gained his knighthood, and the two events are unlikely to be entirely unconnected.  Seraphina’s parents have always been pushy, a trait which seems to have increased in direct proportion to their wealth.  Both are now considerable, which brings the expected problems and privileges to their offspring.  Being packed off to the finest boarding schools in the land was the new Lady Townsend’s idea of keeping up with the aristocratic Joneses, and never mind what her children might think of it.

Despite this, Seraphina has settled into Lowewood and done well there.  She is bright, works hard and, whilst she might feel slightly nauseated by her name (she is usually just Sera to her friends), she has nonetheless been blessed with rather angelic features which can make her appear far too innocent to have stepped out of line.  Around 5’5” with blonde curly hair and a sweet smile, her looks have got her out of trouble more than once.  However, for all that, she remains pretty virtuous as she enters the sixth form and hasn’t had a proper boyfriend - yet.  She hangs out mostly with her girly mates from the fifth year Lavender Dorm in Dashwood – Cassie Abbotts, Chloe Lansbury and Violet Kynaston – and shares plenty of scrapes with them.  On top of her studies, she enjoys drama, plays the flute, excels on the hockey pitch and is working towards her Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Sera’s siblings also promise to play a role in Lowewood life over time.  Older brother Raphael is in his first year at Bristol University but enjoys visiting his sisters – and perhaps Seraphina’s friends even more so – when he can.  Meanwhile, the younger Gabriel may find himself joining the girls in Dashwood when he moves up to the sixth form next year.  The youngest, Angelica, is already in the second year at Lowewood and, despite fagging for lovely Pippa Beaumont, is managing not to live up to her name in some style!

Email: Seraphina@lowewood-academy.co.uk

Violet Kynaston, Lower Sixth, Dashwood House
For Violet Kynaston (known to friends as Mousie) the glass is usually three-quarters full, when others would be forgiven for thinking it’s nearly empty. On her part this is not misguided optimism, but rather a conscious decision when she was a little girl to concentrate on the silver lining and disregard the cloud whenever possible.

This largely sums up her attitude to Lowewood as a whole.

Violet’s mother, who adores her little girl, had her very young and brought her up on her own. A concert cellist, she is not yet successful enough to afford a private education for her daughter. Luckily, Violet is an effortlessly brilliant student, and has been offered scholarships to several top schools. The only full scholarship, however, came from Lord Fawcett’s fund for Endowed Girls. Thus, although Violet’s mother doesn’t agree with the draconian regime and strict discipline the school offered, the girl was sent to Lowewood. She tries her best to enjoy it.

Violet has an eidetic memory: she remembers everything she has read once. Consequently, she never has to do much work to achieve the good grades she gets. This leaves her with too much time for getting into trouble, and has also made her incurably lazy. She enjoys ballet and gymnastics, but has abandoned both activities because they involved actual hard work.

Violet is quite tall, willowy, and possesses the sort of pale skin that marks drastically from a spanking. She has brown-reddish hair, earnest brown eyes, and in the spring is beset with freckles.

She is thoughtful, sincere and deeply romantic, and believes the best about people until they have proven otherwise. When she grows up, she wants to be independently rich, so that she doesn’t have to work, and can spend all her spare time reading; she has yet to invent a back-up plan in case the riches fail to turn up.

Email: Violet@lowewood-academy.co.uk

Lady Elizabeth Felicity Henrietta Tweedie, Lower Sixth, Dashwood House

A latecomer to the Dashwood Sixth form, Elizabeth (known as Fliss) is an effortlessly cool fashion-plate in the way that only trustafarian babes with a large allowance can be. A rich kid with pretensions to socialism – champagne socialism – she is the youngest daughter of somewhat eccentric parents, her father and mother having met in 1976 at the BBC University Challenge Final - Magdalen College, Cambridge vs Peterhouse College, Oxford. Her father’s love of useless facts and her mother’s love of outrageous fashion have been inherited by their daughter.

Joining Lowewood halfway through the year, after her expulsion from Goldhills College for blowing up the chemistry lab whilst attempting to create home-made LSD, Fliss is an intelligent girl who is easily bored and thus is often in trouble. She is also a drama-queen, both on and off the stage!

Email: Fliss@lowewood-academy.co.uk