St Peter’s School sponsors Emma Rice’s Malory Towers production

St Peter’s School in York is to sponsor one of the highlights of York Theatre Royal’s autumn/winter season – Emma Rice’s hotly-anticipated adaptation of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers.

The production, which comes to York from 10-14 September, follows the successful run of Emma Rice’s adaptation of Angela Carter’s novel Wise Children at the theatre in March.

Head of Drama Helen Lindley says: “We are huge fans of Wise Children. Our drama students were bowled over by their riotous, uninhibited production earlier this year and can’t wait to see what the company do with this children’s classic. Depictions of boarding can be cliché-ridden, so we’re looking forward to what will be a comedic, spirited, thought-provoking theatrical experience.”

Dorothy Gillies, Housemistress of Girls Boarding House, The Rise, says: “I loved Malory Towers as a child but it’s not a book most of our girls are familiar with. I think they will be watching keenly and very interested to see how their experience compares to the experience of the girls in the play.

“Getting across the reality of modern, family-style boarding, like we have at St Peter’s, and busting some myths – the girls do not sleep in dormitories– is something we-re always keen to do.  Sponsoring this production is a fun way for us to do this and we’re all looking forward to seeing it.”

St Peter’s School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school with extensive grounds on the banks of the River Ouse. Founded by St Paulinus of York in AD 627, it is the third oldest school in the UK and the fourth oldest in the world.

St Peter’s offers modern, family-style boarding on a 47-acre riverside campus in the heart of York

The School has two boarding houses for girls aged 13-18, each housing 40 girls

It also has two boarding houses for boys

Boarding is a popular choice for modern families with older children because of the increasing evidence that it helps young people develop empathy, compassion, independence and self-reliance and because it helps children with keen interests in sport, music and drama to participate fully in evening and weekend activities, such as matches and rehearsals

The School is encouraging those with an interest in how boarding works in 2019 to visit on their Open Day on Saturday 5 October.