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#1: Timetable - Swiss days Author: Catherine, Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 4:34 pm
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I think I may have asked this before in the dim and distant past ... but I can't remember!

Does anyone have even a rough idea of the timetable? I get confused whenever I try to work it out!!

#2: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 9:31 pm
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I can't remember what time the rising bell went, but it seemed to be a mad rush to get up, make your bed, have a nice cold ice cold bath, get dressed and then get down to Fruhstuck! (After Karen and the rest of the kitchen staff had been up since crack of dawn making Fruhstuck and Gaudenz had been up even earlier than that to light the boiler, of course!)

Then prayers, then there were lessons until half past 10, and then Break from half past ten until quarter to eleven. Then lessons until Mittagessen, which was presumably at 12:30 or 1:00 ish. After Mittagessen, they had to rest for half an hour to recover from the utter exhaustion of the day so far Rolling Eyes

. Then more lessons until Kaffee und Kuchen, which must've been at about 3ish, then presumably one more lesson and then a break before Prep. Or maybe they went for walks late afternoon - they seemed to go for walks every day at some points but not others. Then Abendessen. Then either sitting in the common rooms or else dancing/games, and then bedtime was at different times depending on your age.

I seem to recall seeing somewhere that they got up earlier in the summer than they did in the winter, but I can't remember where.

#3: Author: JayB, Location: SE England

Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 10:15 pm
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I think it was 6.30 in summer, 7.00 in winter, wasn't it? (Shudders in horror). After Fruhstuck it was dormitory work then walk, I think. And changing into velveteens for the evening after K&K, I think. So you had to do prep in your velveteen, which seems odd to me. And were there evening Prayers every day, or was that just on the first evening? And if you learned an instrument, there was practice to be fitted in somewhere.

#4: Author: Miriam, Location: Jerusalem, Israel

Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 10:18 pm
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I think at the beginning of 'Ruey' Margot mentions that they had to get up at 7:00 in the winter and 6:30 in the summer (or something like that). THe point was to get more work done before it got too hot, and have a longer break in the middle of the day when the heat would have made woking difficult.

THey spent a lot of afternoons in the summer down at Thun, so afternoon lessons must have been of the kind that were easy to make up. Whenever we hear about afternoon lessons they seem to be games or needlework, or something'lighter'.

#5: Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 3:14 am
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And in the rest of the year they would take the afternoon off whenever the weather was particularly good - for skiing in the winter, or rambles the rest of the time, because they were shut in a lot.

#6: Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 7:27 am
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Miriam wrote:

THey spent a lot of afternoons in the summer down at Thun, so afternoon lessons must have been of the kind that were easy to make up. Whenever we hear about afternoon lessons they seem to be games or needlework, or something 'lighter'.

That's true throughout the series, IIRC. The academic classes are typically in morning school; in the afternoon it's usually art or needlework or singing or games or whatever - the practical, less academic, less sitting down things.

I'd say afternoon school was shorter, too. Morning school is about 3-4 hours (including Prayers and Break); afternoon school is more like 2 hours - 2pm-4pm, followed by Kaffee und Kuchen until 4.30, then there is Prep, which varies in length depending on seniority. The Juniors get most of their evening free time between prep and Abendessen; for the middles and seniors, most of their free time is after Abendessen (query: how healthy would it be for the Juniors to go to bed so soon after their evening meal? Even if we accept that the "big" meal of the day would often be Mittagessen - hence the rest period before e.g. games or whatever even in winter when there was no need for heat-of-the-day-siesta).

Makes you realise what an amazingly full day they had. I'd happily swap most of it for an hour curled up on a sofa with a book!

#7: Author: Mel, Location: UP NORTH

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 11:15 am
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It's a full day, but not very rigorous academically with maybe four lessons only in the mornings. They must have had only two lessons a week in most subjects ie twenty lessons per week and I can think of ten subjects: English, Maths, Science, French, German, Latin, History, Geography, Scripture, Domestic Science. That leaves Art, Singing, PE and Sewing in the afternoon.

#8: Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 12:22 pm
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Well, a four hour morning would have been 6-8 lessons when I was at school - each period being either 30 or 35 or 40 minutes, depending on the school. Double maths, at 1hr 10mins, was always a pet hate of mine.

But then the CS wasn't just about academic excellence, it was more about being a rounded person. And I'm not sure how rigorously the lighter afternoon thing was kept to for those in the senior forms working for exams.

I'm trying to think how many lessons a week we had in each subject, and I reckon three (or at the most four) for most subjects - one double and one single period. Core subjects like English and Maths we had more, I think. But the CS girls may well have had less - they had separate lessons in geometry, arithmetic and algebra, apart from anything... And they were learning languages all the time, not just in class etc.

Was Dommy Sci was an afternoon / all-day-on-one-special-day thing, does anyone remember?

#9: Author: JayB, Location: SE England

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 12:23 pm
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Quote:

It's a full day, but not very rigorous academically with maybe four lessons only in the mornings.

They make up for it by the amount of prep they do, though. Two hours every evening for some - can't remember if it's all Middles or just Senior Middles or Seniors, plus time on Saturday morning to finish off. That's an awfully long time to expect girls to sit still in silence and concentrate. It's no wonder prep was so often disrupted by one thing or another.

And the Saturday morning mending and letter writing seems unnecessarily regimented to me. What if I preferred to do my mending and letter writing in the evenings when it was dark and play tennis on Saturday mornings, or just sit in the garden with a book?

And similarly, I wonder what would have been said if a girl politely declined the Saturday evening invitation and said she'd rather stay in the Common Room and get on with her book/knitting/whatever?

#10: Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 2:00 pm
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JayB wrote:

And the Saturday morning mending and letter writing seems unnecessarily regimented to me. What if I preferred to do my mending and letter writing in the evenings when it was dark and play tennis on Saturday mornings, or just sit in the garden with a book?

That's one thing I really don't think I'd like about that sort of system - every moment of every day is scheduled. You have a wake up bell and a schedule for washing, a schedule for morning practice, breakfast, morning prayers, classes, a scheduled break taken together, more classes, lunch, afternoon less academic classes, another regimented break, prep, and dinner. Evenings were scheduled prep - and I don't think you could leave if you finished you work - scheduled hobbies time, pre-planned activities such as dancing, evening entertainments, etc. Weekends are for church, letter writing and mending (at scheduled times of course), scheduled quiet/reading times in the garden, guides, walks, and excursions.

They seem to have occasional periods in their common rooms, but other than that ever single activity is scheduled and regimented. Plus, unless you're in the practice room the only time you'd ever be alone is in your cubicle while sleeping, or in the bathroom. I think I'd go mad.

#11: Author: Mel, Location: UP NORTH

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 3:45 pm
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I agree and the Platz itself, though lovely, would get so claustrophopic. I wish the sixth form (not just the prefects!) had been allowed to go into Interlaken for a Saturday afternoon.

#12: Author: Smile :), Location: Location? What's a location?

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 4:22 pm
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Caroline wrote:

Well, a four hour morning would have been 6-8 lessons when I was at school - each period being either 30 or 35 or 40 minutes, depending on the school. Double maths, at 1hr 10mins, was always a pet hate of mine.

Yup our periods are 35 minutes long and we get 10 a day, making more or less 6 hours a day.

Caroline wrote:

I'm trying to think how many lessons a week we had in each subject, and I reckon three (or at the most four) for most subjects - one double and one single period.

Most things are taught in doubles or triples 1h 10/1h 45. on average i get 5 periods a week in each subject making that about 3hrs worth a week!

I wish we did 'lighter' things in the afternoon!

#13: Author: RoseCloke, Location: In my pretty box-like room

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 4:44 pm
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Maybe the lower school had shorter lessons (say 35 minutes) and the forms studying for exams/specialising would have an hour per subject. My sixth form took students from age eleven upwards and I know that some of the eleven and twelve year olds had 30 minute lessons for some subjects, whilst we had a longer time to go more in-depth.

I couldn't believe, reading the books, that the servants would get up so early. Joey makes one reference to Anna getting up at 4am to pick fruit! Having said that, they all seem to fade away after Abendessen, so maybe they went to bed before the girls Confused

#14: Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 9:01 pm
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I had letter writing on Saturday mornings, though I don't remember any mending! I also don't remember tearing my clothes or losing buttons like they seem to do!
We were allowed to go into town after that if we had permission, for specific shopping, and in groups of at least 3. But it had to be for buying birthday presents or that sort of thing.
We had to go for a walk in the afternoon, weather permitting. In groups of at least 3, and we had to say where we were going. here was always dancing on saturday evenings, and we had to go. It was in the gym, in the school block, and there was no option for staying in the common rooms. I used to take a book and lock myself in the loo. I have never een able to dance, and it was all ballroom type dancing, with some country dancing like the Gay Gordons mixed in.

#15: Author: Miriam, Location: Jerusalem, Israel

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 9:05 pm
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Quote:

Maybe the lower school had shorter lessons (say 35 minutes) and the forms studying for exams/specialising would have an hour per subject.

That would have made things even harder for Rosalie when it came to arranging the timetables, if the differnt forms had lessons of different lenth. Unless the Junior and Senior staff were completely separate (which could have been the case) it's hard to imagine how it would work.

#16: Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester

Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 10:45 am
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Miriam wrote:

Quote:

Maybe the lower school had shorter lessons (say 35 minutes) and the forms studying for exams/specialising would have an hour per subject.

Well, they did often have different staff teaching the same subjects to different sections of the school (e.g ... erm ... Miss Wilson teaching Senior science and Miss Armitage taking it for Middles and Juniors). And the Junior / kindergarten form mistresses seem to take more than one subject with their forms - they'd have less teaching from the specialist mistresses.

Of course, actually, all the lessons would be e.g. 35 minutes, and the seniors would just have more double periods of 1.10. They'd also be studying many fewer subjects than the younger girls.

I think for School Cert (AKA the exam 16 year olds sit - became O levels and then GCSE), the girls would have taken six subjects only. They'd probably have lessons in more than that (Scripture might be compulsary, for instance, like RE was for us in the 80s), but not in the same depth. And EBD suggests in the Armishire books that the whole year group would take the same six subjects - making timetabling much easier.

Would Higher School Cert be fewer subjects again?

#17: Author: Mrs Redboots, Location: London, UK

Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 12:38 pm
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Our lessons were all 35-40 minutes and we had 8 a day. The afternoons could be as academic as the mornings (oh, the horror of German, double German on Tuesday afternoons in the Upper Sixth!), but games were usually last lesson to allow time for House Matches to be played.

This back in the 1960s.

I am laughing at you younger ones, as our days were every bit as regimented as those at the Chalet School, although we didn't have to have a cold bath every day (we had three baths a week, a maximum of one of which could be at bed-time). We also had at least two hours of prep every evening, which was done after we'd changed out of uniform into our own skirts and tops (no trousers allowed). And home letters had to be written on Sundays, either before or after Church (and no, you didn't get a choice about going, although you could, within limits, choose where you went); telephones, in those days, were expensive and with one line shared between 40+ girls AND the staff, calls were pretty much rationed.

#18: Author: Catherine, Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 12:43 pm
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I vaguely remember something in Summer Term about Maths lasting 45 minutes and there being two other 30 minute lessons before Break... what time did they start working?!!

#19: Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 5:23 am
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When I was in elementary school (up to age 12 or 13) we had a single class with a single teacher. Classes started at nine. Reading and math took up most of the morning, with a 15 minute recess break midmorning. I think there was usually about 1/2 an hour of something else in there. There was then a 40 minute lunch. I lived near the school, so I went home for lunch. Afternoon classes went until 3. In addition to reading and math there was social studies (combo of geography, history and civics), PE, science (minimal and very badly taught), creative writing and art. There was a music teacher who came around a few times a week in the earlier years, and in the last year there was an optional school band. We also had a library period twice a week which taught some pre-internet research skills and where we checked out books.

In the more senior grades there was the option of after school sports teams as well, when various job actions weren't interfering.

There was no needlework, religious studies, drama, dictation, private music lessons, or organised prep, and only occasionally language study.

At junior high school we took eight subjects in a year, and had three or six hours of each a week, depending on whether it was a full year or semester course. English, math, PE, social studies and science and a second language were mandatory. The remaining courses could be chosen from home-ec, shop, music, art, drama, typing, computer science, etc. The school day ran from 8:30 to 3 pm.

In senior high, which was the last two years, the course offerings opened up, and the sciences split into physics, chemistry and biology, and social studies to history and geography. English was mandatory, and in grade 11 social studies, math and a science were also. At this point you tended to go different directions depending on whether you planned to go to university (you kept French and concentrated on academics), or not.

Extra curricular activities included sports teams, tour band, student council, the drama club, etc, and took place before or after school. You were also assigned homework, which was up to you to schedule.

Private music lessons, dance, etc. were up to the parents. After about age 15 many students had part time jobs, typically for five-15 hours a week, while others babysat.

#20: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 6:21 am
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If all the academic classes were taken in the morning - and all the non-academic classes in the afternoon - did that mean the Mistresses would have the afternoon or morning off depending on their speciality? Confused

#21: Author: MaryR, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 12:56 pm
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Lesley wrote:

If all the academic classes were taken in the morning - and all the non-academic classes in the afternoon - did that mean the Mistresses would have the afternoon or morning off depending on their speciality? Confused

But a great many of the girls had private coaching for all sorts of acamedic subjects as well, so that would have to come in the afternoon, surely. And there are several occasions when EBD has Hilda giving Lit lectures to Senior classes in the afternoons. Maybe others also did that.

And the games teacher had her *remedials* in the mornings, didn't she? Confused

Not being totally au fait with the books, that is about all I can remember.

#22: Author: Miriam, Location: Jerusalem, Israel

Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 8:09 pm
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Mlle de Lachenais teaches French (and sometimes Latin) and sewing. Sewing is normally an afternoon leson, while french would have been in the morning. Her tome would have been well filled between them, and one ewonders when she has any time for marking or lesson planning. Rolling Eyes

Alot of staff seem to take private coaching out of their specific subject area, helping out where they are needed in subjects they good at - think of how they arrange Polly's coachinf in 'Jo Returns'. THere would also be supervision of the juniors, and helping out with Games lessons. I'm sure I remember some iinstances of Art taking place during the morning.

#23: Author: skye,

Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 10:00 pm
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Miriam wrote:

Mlle de Lachenais teaches French (and sometimes Latin) and sewing. Sewing is normally an afternoon leson, while french would have been in the morning. Her tome would have been well filled between them, and one ewonders when she has any time for marking or lesson planning. Rolling Eyes

Prefects take prep so that would free up the mistresses time. They also supervise the younger children out of school hours and during sports lessons and coaching. Actually, remind me, what do the mistresses do?

#24: Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 3:05 am
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Some of the mistresses coach sports as well - Miss Ferrars helped with tennis, I think. They supervise walks and if there is skiing or swimming they're automatically on duty for that.

They would also have to prepare lessons and write exams and assignments and mark the results, and pepare reports.

So if an academic teacher taught clases for four hours in the morning, had two hours of private tutoring in the afternoon, another hour of coaching a sport or supervising needlework or a walk or playing for country dancing and so on, and two hours for preparation and marking, that's a nine hour work day, and they were on duty at meals and on the weekends as well.

Non academic staff could then have the bulk of their classes in the afternoon, with the mornings schedules for private lessons for girls who were specialising and therefore exempt from other classes, as well as preparation time.

The prefects seem to have a pretty hectic schedule, though. A full set of classes, plus supervising prep (which for the middles meant they couldn't get any of their own work done), their special duties for their prefects position, playing on a sports team, taking private lessons or tutoring in their specialty area and being pulled in to help coach tennis or lacross when ever the happen to not be in class.

#25: Author: MaryR, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 1:36 pm
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skye wrote:

But the prefects only take prep on one or two nights a week, to give the staff a breather. They don't do it every night. And the staff often spend time with the girls in the evening when they are dancing or whatever. Mlle Lenoir, for example, often plays the piano for the dancing and other staff are also there participating. It strikes me that both staff and prefects had their noses well and truly kept to the grindstone.

#26: Author: Catherine, Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 1:37 pm
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I thought the Prefects took prep every night except for a Friday when the mistresses took it? That's the impression I got, anyway.

Also, I vaguely remember a mention that although the mistresses might join in the dancing on a Saturday night, it was their choice and the Prefects were very much in charge.

#27: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 3:45 pm
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Prefects took prep every night, but it worked out that each prefect only took a prep duty about twice a week. From Inter V upwards prep was unsupervised.

I think the junior staff were separate to the senior staff to a certain extent (possibly after the Ivy Norman fiasco!) and the senior staff were certainly more specialised. The middle school were a grey area too...Kathy Ferrars took middle school maths, geography and apparently some English frex, but senior maths was taken by Nancy Wilmot and Geography by Ros Moore....

#28: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 3:47 pm
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Surely Inter V weren't unsupervised? I seem to remember them managing to get in serious trouble when only left for a short time in Kathie Ferrars' first term. Can't imagine they'd be considered mature enough to be left on their own for 90 minutes. Laughing

#29: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 3:50 pm
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We're told they counted as Seniors and Seniors did prep unsupervised. I'm sure there are incidents where someone in Inter V is struggling and they're told to take their prep to the prefect supervising next door.

#30: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 3:56 pm
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Perhaps they did later in the Swiss years - but the incident I was thinking of occured because Kathie Ferrars had to take over a Friday Prep when Miss Betram was ill - and it was with her own form - Inter V - they interrupted the Head's lecture, among other things.

(Have just been re-reading the scene. Laughing

)

#31: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 4:18 pm
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Rolling Eyes

EBD

I suppose they did have some monkeys in there - and young monkeys at that...

#32: Author: Catherine, Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 4:43 pm
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I always get the impression the first Inter V was considerably less mature than the following Inter Vs - possibly because it's only in that first year that it seems to be a mixture of girls of all ages. In following years, the girls seem to move through it as a matter of course so they stick in their forms with the friends they've always had.

They definitely had supervised prep in that first year but I don't remember Adrienne, Janice and co. being supervised when they were Inter V.

#33: Author: alicat, Location: Wiltshire

Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 1:49 pm
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the boarders at my daughter's school have to spend an hour doing prep every night of the week whether they've got any work to do or not. and there are organised activities at weekends they are not allowed to skip - not country dancing, but films and trips out. they are only excused if they have an invite out to someone's house (and they have to get parental permission). But they are allowed out of school in the day to go into town and pretty much do as they like - shopping, cinema, eat out etc.

she was quite disgusted when she stayed for supper one night recently (cos she was in a concert and it was too complex to collect/feed/deliver her again) and found she was required to join in with prep.

tho she did admit it might be nice to have got all your homework done in the week and have the weekend completely free: at the moment she does most of hers at w/ends so she can go to dance, drama, guides etc on week nights!

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