When Pandora (Pan) and Felicity (Liss) Garnet return to Bryngarth School in North Wales, they are surprised to discover that the headmistress, Miss Garth, has retired, and that her niece, Miss Josselin, is taking over the school. They are even more surprised, and Pan is, together with her friends, dismayed to learn that the school is being reformed, and made more progressive. It will now accept Juniors, forms will be abolished, and the girls themselves will be expected to take a part in their own self-government. Although twelve-year-old Liss, who is in her first year at Bryngarth, adapts well to the new regime, fourteen-year-old Pan rebels, forming part of a cadre of senior students who are resentful and uncooperative, refusing to make friends with Jane Josselin, the Head's friendly daughter. Over the course of the coming term, there are many ups and downs, numerous adventures, and quite a bit of conflict. Eventually, after much soul-searching, Pan is reconciled to this "new" school...

Always a proponent of the progressive boarding school, one where the students themselves play a role in self-government, and help to set and maintain the rules, Mabel Esther Allan really gets into the subject in New Schools for Old, which is one of the most enjoyable of her school stories, of those I have read. Allan captures the natural resistance to change that young people can exhibit, through Pan's character, and although the narrative clearly reinforces the idea that this new style of school is the better one - as Mrs. Garnett says at one point, "It may be easier to have everything laid down by those above, but it's good for young people to manage their own affairs" - she still portrays her main protagonist's struggles with great sympathy. As is always the case with Allan, place plays an important role in the story, and the setting around the River Dee provides many opportunities for school excursions. As is also usually the case with this author, music and folk-dance also play a role, as the children become involved in both, and enter into the International Eisteddfod, an annual musical competition held in Llangollen, Wales. Highly recommend, to readers of the girls' school story in general, and to fans of Mabel Esther Allan's work in particular. ( )