Barnstorming on an Invisible Segway

I share your reservation about the board-school genre. One reason I like Brazil and Brent-Dyer is their (occasional) acknowledgement that this isn't the right environment for some. All too often, this is resolved by their expulsion, but sometimes the character in question finds ways of fitting in -- in ways the narrative clearly recognizes is problematic. (I especially note that Grizel (sp?) Cochrane stayed with the Chalet School long after she should have escaped, and how this harmed both her and her students was nodded to several times.

(Brazil I especially like for showing the teachers sometimes make things worse through bad decisions.)