The “guilty twelve”

My boarding school experience with a Ouija Board

Cropwood Residential for Girls. That was the name of the boarding school I was sent to. My very own piece of ‘Harry Potter’! I spent some of the best years of my life there. A solitary old Manor House on the rolling hills of Worcestershire, with unpolluted fresh air, forests and greenery as far as the eye could see. Cropwood was a Manor House that used to belong to the founder of Cadbury’s chocolate, he donated the building to be turned into a girl’s school.

At first, like every child, I became homesick, but then as the routine and discipline set in, I became quite content. There were school rules that we adhered to religiously. Upon waking, we would roll back the ‘counterpane’ and then open the windows to allow the bed to get some air. We would get up, get washed and dressed into our uniforms. At 8am, the gong would sound for breakfast. We would go into the dining room and sit quietly, with our hands on our laps, waiting for our headmistress to come in. When she walked in, we would stand. She would say ‘good morning girls’ and we would reply ‘good morning, Miss Clarke’ before being given the signal to sit down. All of the tables were square, each one seating four girls. Miss Clarke’s table however, was an octagon-shaped one, where it was considered an honour to be sat. Each day, Miss Clarke would pick seven girls and invite them to…