Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

Malory Towers First Form is a book about a 14 year old girl called Darrell with a younger sister called Felicity, aged 11.

Darrell goes to an all girls school in Cornwall with her best friend Sally and when they get there they find 3 new girls; Daphne - a girl who is well off and has beautiful parents, Belinda - a scatter brain at most things and a super artist, and Ellen, the Scholarship girl who worries like mad about the tests coming up.

Daphne loves telling her fellow students about the yacht and how rich her family is; along the way she makes a friend called Gwendoline who only likes her for the money.  Daphne finds she isn't very good at French and asks another pupil, Mary Lou to help her; Mary Lou takes to Daphne straight away but doesn't realise that Daphne is only using her.

With the tests approaching and off school ill, Ellen decides she has to do something to keep her marks high.  So regrettably, she decides to cheat, one evening late in the night Ellen got up and snuck downstairs to collect the test papers.  Unfortunately for her, Darrell had heard her get up and followed her down.  Hiding in the cupboard with the test papers in her hands, Ellen kept as quiet as a mouse.  Darrell hesitantly approached the cupboard, opened it and found Ellen standing there.

Along the way, someone had been stealing purses and due to the sneaking around, everyone assumed it was Ellen.  However, when Daphne sends Mary Lou to post a parcel away and Mary Lou falls off the edge of the cliff, only Daphne can save her and with a thundering storm overhead, Daphne holds on until the teachers find her.

Next day, Sally, Darrell, Belinda and her friend go searching for the missing parcel and find the purses inside.  They run to show the Head Teacher and surprised, Darrell then tells the Head about Ellen and the test papers.  Mrs Grayling calls Daphne and tells her that the girls have been to find the parcel.  Daphne owns up and tells the first form that she isn't actually rich and that her act was to put the others to shame.

With the girls left with the decision of whether to keep her at Malory Towers or not, they accept that no-one is perfect!  And continue onto the last term all as friends.

I recommend this book for girls aged 8-11.