# The Nun's Walk explained — A Popular Schoolgirl > Chapter companion for A Popular Schoolgirl by Angela Brazil. ## What happens In the idyllic May setting of Wynch-on-the-Wold, Ingred Saxon returns home to find visitors she dislikes, leading to a family discussion about manners and truthfulness. At school, the boarders practice tennis, and when balls go over the wall into Dr. Broadfield's garden, Ingred climbs over to retrieve them, discovering a ghost legend called 'The Nun's Walk.' That night, she and her friends sneak out to investigate and are caught by Miss Burd. ## Themes in this chapter ### Personal Growth and Self-Control Ingred's argument about manners and truthfulness leads to a lesson from Mother about balancing honesty with kindness and self-control. ### Community and Belonging The hostel boarders bond over tennis practice and the shared adventure of the ghost hunt, reinforcing their group identity. ### Competition and Emulation Tennis practice and the hope of future tournaments drive the girls to improve, with Nora emerging as a standout player. ## Character check-ins ### Ingred Saxon Returns home, argues about manners, retrieves tennis balls from Dr. Broadfield's garden, and leads the nighttime ghost-hunting adventure. ### Quenrede Saxon Criticizes Ingred's manners, welcomes Mr. Broughten cautiously, and joins the family bluebell gathering. ### Mother Offers wisdom on manners and truthfulness, organizes tea in the woods, and observes Quenrede's interactions. ### Nora Clifford Excels at tennis with swift serves, loses balls over the wall, and participates in the ghost hunt. ### Verity Richmond Grieves over lost tennis balls, helps Ingred climb the wall, and dares the group to explore the garden at night. ### Fil Trevor Suggests retrieving balls by trickery, trembles during the ghost hunt, and shrieks at the white figure. ### Miss Burd Appears as the white figure in the garden, catches the girls and commands them to stop. ### Blossom Webster Coaches tennis players and hopes to select champions for the Games Club. ## Key lines > Really, Ingred, they don’t seem to teach manners at the College now! Quenrede scolds Ingred for her rudeness to visitors. _Highlights the theme of social expectations versus personal honesty._ > There’s nothing for it but to make a sally into the enemy’s trenches and fetch them back! Ingred volunteers to climb the wall into Dr. Broadfield's garden to retrieve lost tennis balls. _Shows Ingred's boldness and willingness to take risks for the group._ > I dare you to go! Verity challenges the others to explore the garden at night. _Sets up the ghost-hunting adventure that follows._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_popular_schoolgirl_se/chapters/xix-the-nun-s-walk - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_popular_schoolgirl_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_popular_schoolgirl_se/chapters