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File: Extracted from the Archives of Saint Clare’s School for Girls
Document: The Staffroom Files – Part 1
How to Read “Inez of the Upper IV”
The story of Inez de Vries unfolds through a series of documents—some official, pulled from the prim and unforgiving files of Saint Clare’s School for Girls; others are more intimate, drawn from the journals, letters, and scribbled notes of the girls themselves. These pieces will be posted gradually, over the next two weeks, allowing the narrative to take shape not through a single telling, but through fragments. Some will appear typed and orderly; others will retain the texture of handwriting, rendered in a cursive-style font to honor the green-ink originals. Readers are invited to step into the role of archivist, assembling the story from these traces, and imagining the lives that fill the gaps between pages—the tensions, the alliances, the secrets too dangerous to write down. Not everything will be explained. But Inez is watching. And she remembers.
Use the comments to build the story together: ask questions, float theories, invent what’s missing. What do you. think lies between the lines? The archive is incomplete—but the story lives in the spaces between.
Forward to The Staffroom Files, Part I
Or, what happens after Inez hands in her detention essay.
If you’ve already met the cast, you’ll know that Saint Clare’s staff take themselves—though not always each other—very seriously. And once Inez submitted her now-famous detention essay, the real choreography began: memos circulated, tea went undrunk, and several people wrote things they probably assumed would never be read aloud.
What follows is a glimpse into the official (and not-so-official) correspondence sparked by one 14-year-old girl, an unwritten essay, and the instinctive belief that rules are meant to be rewritten mid-term.
Saint Clare’s runs on tradition. And files don’t forget.
MEMORANDUM
To: Miss Kelley
From: Mr. Green
Date: Saturday, 14 June 1955
Subject: Miss de Vries – Geography Paper / Disciplinary Follow-up
Dear Miss Kelley,
Following our conversation yesterday regarding de Vries, I writing to confirm she was given Saturday detention and has been instructed to submit her research essay no later than Monday morning. As I explained, she attempted to deceive me regarding the paper’s whereabouts and then absented herself from my lesson entirely.
I understand she has since submitted a written account of the incident. I trust it is suitably contrite. Please be advised that I informed her the highest grade she may receive is 50%, in keeping with departmental policy regarding late submissions tied to misconduct. In addition, she should be punished further for her bare-faced deception.
I will be interested in hearing your assessment of her attitude during detention and whether it aligns with what I experienced—a performance equal parts defiance and theatrical innocence.
Warm regards,
G. Green
Dear Bertie,
Just a quiet word about Inez de Vries, whom I believe you were asked to see today regarding administering our colleague Mr. Green’s so-called “correctional contract.” She arrived after detention, quite composed and rather gracious—odd, considering she’d had her hands caned by GG and had received a further thirty cane strokes from you.
She confided that she “felt rather safer in your hands,” which I thought both sweet and a bit suggestive. (She also mentioned something about Miss Clark being “rather cross” that her history lesson had been interrupted. I wouldn’t be surprised if she repeats this to the Headmaster Monday.)
I found her essay somewhat persuasive, though a trifle over-polished for someone supposedly in disgrace. She’s clever, Bertie—too clever. One gets the sense she’s testing all of us and the system itself to see where the weak spots may be.
Would you mind letting me know what precisely you administered and how it was received? Mr. Green seems to expect you will have fulfilled the contract in its original form requiring thirty strokes of the cane, but something tells me you have exercised discretion.
Yours,
Anne
MEMORANDUM
To: Mr. Green
From: Mr. Johnson
Date: Sunday, 15 June 1955
Subject: Miss de Vries – Appropriate Physical Punishment Administered
Dear George,
Further to your concerns—relayed via Miss Kelley—I can confirm that I administered twelve strokes to Miss de Vries on Saturday afternoon: four sets of three, over standard uniform. I considered this ample, given the nature of the offence and the fact that corporal punishment had already been imposed the previous day for the same matter.
While I believe I understand your intention with the so-called “contract” arrangement, I must respectfully question both the appearance and the pedagogical soundness of such an approach. The notion of assigning quantifiable marks in exchange for physical discipline introduces, at best, an unfortunate ambiguity—and, at worst, a deeply inappropriate precedent. Particularly so in the case of a fourteen-year-old girl compelled to negotiate academic standing with a senior male teacher.
Miss de Vries did ask whether the punishment would “count” toward her credit. I told her I would convey my reasoning to you directly. I trust this resolution will satisfy all parties, though I would strongly recommend that we establish a more unified approach to such matters. She is hardly the first pupil to misnote a deadline, and it seems to me that correction ought to be anchored in principle, not transaction, and most importantly, be assigned and administered judiciously.
I do not mean to presume, but I think it fair to say Saint Clare’s students deserve better judgement than has been used in this case.
Cordially,
B. Johnson
Mr. Lewis-
I’m sure you realize I’m not complaining about his blatant disrespect of me. But for the sake of the school you may wish to speak to Mr. Green regarding the spectacle he made on Friday. Barging into my class mid-lesson to extract a single girl for interrogation is not my idea of sound pedagogy. My upper fourth is now missing eight minutes of discussion regarding the Marshall Plan.
Also—and just between us—Inez de Vries approached me this morning and “apologised” for the disruption, noting she feared she had “embarrassed Mr. Green in front of the girls” and that “you can always tell who’s in control by who’s red in the face.”
Make of that what you will.
– E.C.
Your turn.
What do you see between the lines?
Use the comments to ask questions, imagine what’s missing, and connect the dots. Inez might be listening.
| Post Title | Date Posted |
| Teaser – “Inez of the Upper Fourth” – a Saint Clare Summer Saga | 21 July 2025 |
| Saint Clare School Justifications or A Few Explanations for the Inconsistencies That Are Absolutely Not My Fault) | 22 July 2025 |
| Waiting for Inez – It’s your own time you’re wasting… | 23 July 2025 |
| Start HERE: Inez’s Detention Essay | 24 July 2025 |
| Inez of the Upper IV – Cast of Characters | 25 July 2025 |
| The Real Motto of Saint Clare’s School for Girls | 27 July 2025 |
| The Staffroom Files Part 1: Inez of the Upper Fourth | 29 July 2025 |
| Notations from Matron’s Logbook: Inez of the Upper 4th | 30 July 2025 |