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The Jennings books are set a a artchtypical British preparatory boarding school, Linbury Court Boys Prepartatory School in Dunhambury, Sussex. (Unlike the Our William books which are set at home.) John Christopher Timothy Jennings, better known as Jennings, is an 11 year old English prep schoolboy when we fitst meet him about 1948. He first appears in the author's imagination as stories he told his students at the Ramsgate prep school where he taught. Jennings of course also attends a boy's boarding school--Linbury Court Boys Preparatory School. There are may references to the school in the book There were about 70 boarders, small for a modern prep school, but before the 1970s there were more smaller prep schools. Many have since closed. The building was rather old. Few prep schools were purpose-built schools, but rather took over a country estate whose owner could no longer afford it. While the building was not new, it might kindly be described as having character. The school had a park, gardens and playground. Other buildings were added specifically by the school. There are dormitories for the boarders, class rooms, common rooms for leisure time, and a dining hall--all the basic prep school facilities. Many of the Jennings stories take place in these facilities, but the scene sometimes shifts to locactions like the attics, terraces, boiler room, garages, as well as other places.
A British prep school is different than an American prep school. A British prep school is an elementary school preparing boys for entry to the country's elite Public (private) schools. The boys are typically from 8 to 13 years old at most prep schools. Until the 1970s almost all prep schools were single gender schools. British authors often have terrible stories about their prep schools and until the 1970s there were many schools that were in fact to many that were not very happy places, especially for the younger prep school boys. The Jennings books, however, glossed over that and produced a light-hearted view of the English prep school in the years after World War II.
Readers in fact may like to compare how real prep schools and their pupils comapre to Linbury Court and Jennings and his mates. HBC readers interested in learning more about actual British prep schools may want to look at the Apertures Press photographic study on these unique schools. The book includes many never before published color and balack and white photographs as well a great deal of written material from the children describing their schools.
There is also information on British prep schools in the HBC school uniform section.
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