Welcome to the School by the Sea is a boarding school novel written by the later Jenny Colgan rather than the earlier, funnier, more irreverent Jenny Colgan. But, seriously, any Jenny Colgan is better than no Jenny Colgan.

The story is told in multiple POVs, sometimes all within a chapter and sometimes within two paragraphs or even a single paragraph. It’s sometimes disorienting until you catch on. I did not find this in any way an impediment toward my enjoyment.

Maggie is, a Scottish teacher hailing from Glasgow who, on a whim, decides to apply for a position at a southern English boarding school and, much to her surprise as well as her relatives and boyfriend, is accepted.

Other main characters are Simone, a gifted but overweight student who shines academically and dramatically but is too shy, and Felicity–Fliss–who would rather be anywhere other than at this boarding school.

Welcome to the School by the Sea is one of the borderline Jenny Colgan novels, meaning that it is between the earlier, far funnier and irreverent Jenny Colgan’s and the later, sweet, no-controversy (unless I missed it) Jenny Colgan novels.

Welcome to the School by the Sea is a pleasant novel, much in the way that most later Jenny Colgan novels are pleasant. There are some funny bits, but not as many as in Colgan’s earlier novels.

I did enjoy Welcome to the School by the Sea. It was indeed a page turner, made me laugh and escape, and I hope for greater things for Maggie in the adventure to come. There are evidently five more novels in the series. This is the kind of book that you need when you just want to be somewhere else. I didn’t know it was a thing, but this is also for all of you who love boarding school books. (I guess that’s a British thing more than American. 😉 )

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story is pure enjoyment from beginning to end! The author references her childhood reading of "boarding school books" and this one for adults did remind me so much of my own childhood reading of school stories. The characters, ranging from mean girls to social outcasts to a green young working class teacher to the headmistress with a secret past, all with their own struggles, keep the action rolling.. The writer gives each one humor and a touching vulnerability, and had me immersed in their joys and heartaches throughout. Her writing style is somewhat reminiscent of Alexander McCall Smith's in his two Scotland-based series. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the entries in this series of six!

Maggie Adair was a good teacher, but she spent more than half her classroom time on discipline than on teaching. She enjoyed her students but wanted them to learn but was frustrated with the school and its limited budget plus its location in an economically depressed area of Glasgow.

She endured the same challenges when she attended this same school not so long ago but had little hope the school and its surrounding neighborhood would change anytime soon. So, when she found the ad for an English teacher at the posh boarding school in Cornwall, Downey House, she was thrilled. The fact that it was a mere four hundred miles from Glasgow and would take half a day to drive there, had trivial effect on her enthusiasm. She applied straight-away!

Then the feeling of panic set in, how would she fit in to their environment and what would she wear to the interview! Also complicating this career change was her longtime, live-in boyfriend, Stan. They’ve been together since high school; how would he take this news? Well, she reasoned, she’s not permanently moving there, just teaching for a few months, for two semesters.

Although Stan was not pleased, Maggie did succeed in convincing the Headmistress, Veronica Deveral, that she was the perfect candidate. Maggie would clearly need to update her wardrobe, but she was confident in her teaching skills, and her ability to relate to her female students. Downey House was an all-girls boarding school with the all-boys Downey House conveniently located not far away.

Her students come from all areas, but most come from wealthy families. One standout student, Simone, is there on scholarship and feels she doesn’t fit in. Then there’s Fliss, short for Felicity, who’s older sister is an outgoing student there, but Fliss doesn’t want to leave her old school and all her friends. Simone is set on succeeding while Fliss is set on escaping, or worse, flunking out. Mixed in with these two are average, fairly happy students with the exception of Alice, who’s attitude of privilege and snark leaves chaos wherever she goes.

Can Maggie make it through her first year successfully? Will Stan deal with the change well? Plus, will Maggie’s collaboration with David, the English teacher at the boy’s school turn into something more? All these questions and more are answered in this lively, fun account of Jenny Colgan’s, ‘Welcome to the School by the Sea.’
Anyone who enjoys books about boarding schools will enjoy this one. Jenny actually wrote this several years ago under the pen name, ‘Jane Beaton’ but is reintroducing the series under her own name. This fan of Jenny Colgan’s writing is here for all of it.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow & Co.

Are either of these answered “yes” by you?

I envied that my children had the Harry Potter series to read. Could I please have a boarding school series of my own?
I always enjoy Jenny Colgan’s novels.

If you said yes to either or both, you will most likely enjoy this (re-issued) novel by Ms. Colgan. Even better will be the knowledge that this is the first in a four book series.

Spend time with new teacher Maggie in gorgeous Cornwall. Also get to know the school, its students and Maggie’s colleagues.

This is escapist fiction that surely does what it intends. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this enjoyable read. All opinions are my own.

Welcome to the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan is the first book in a series that she is releasing under her own name. She originally wrote it under the pen name Jane Beaton. They weren’t big sellers but, eventually people found their way to them. In the preface she tells us it is to be a six book series and in the blurb it says it is a four part series. Your guess is as good as mine at this point. We’ll wait and see.

I have read several of Jenny Colgan’s books and have enjoyed them. This one was good but, not at the top of my list. She has peaked my interest enough that I will have my eye out for book two. It wasn’t awful but, it felt a little slow to me. It takes place at a boarding school. The story is about a girl’s school and over the hill is the boy’s school. The boys and girls have a few activities together during the year but, mostly they are apart.

With the first book we are getting to meet the various characters and how they wound up at this school as either teachers or students. The English teacher is Maggie Adair and she has a boyfriend named Stan. They have had a long term relationship and a good bit of this book is about Maggie and six or eight of her students. She grew up in a more metro area and was hoping that teaching at this school would give her more skills to take home to her old neighborhood. She finds herself falling in love with the school and not wanting to leave.

The name of the School is Downey Hall and it is an old castle in Cornwall, Scotland. I can’t imagine leaving a place like Downey Hall that sits right on the water. Wouldn’t that be a dream come true? This is again another book I’ve picked up that takes place in Scotland. I found out in the last year that I am mostly Scottish. I wonder if these books are telling me I need to go for a visit? Anyway, I’m having a blast learning little tidbits about the homeland of my ancestors.

If you love books that are set at boarding schools and in a foreign country, you’ll most likely enjoy this book. You can pre-order it now and it will be in your in box on release day. Happy reading!

Absolutely wonderful start to a new series from Jenny Colgan. A girls school in Cornwall, new teacher from Scotland, a new scholarship student and many rich privileged girls. All come together for a school year to remember. I can’t wait to read the next book.

This book was originally written using Jenny Colgan's pen name and is now being re-released under her own name. I am not familiar with life in an English boarding school, but the world Ms. Colgan created seems to be accurate. I was enchanted by the story but think the characters need fleshing out. The constant fat shaming of the new scholarship girl was awful. There are ‘mean girls’ in every school, but this was overdone. I plan to read the next in the series so I can catch up with the girls and the teachers. I fell in love with Jenny Colgan’s writing years ago and I eagerly await her all new books.

I didn't realize when I requested this from NetGalley that it is just a reprint/renaming of a book I had read years ago under a pseudonym for Colgan. It's an okay book, but not one that I would read again. I was actually surprised to find out that it is a Colgan because her books have always been 5 star reads for me -- which is probably why I requested it by name alone without reading the description fully.

Thanks Jenny Colgan for a wonderful story. I don't know why it is that some books have characters I love and some don't. I really liked these characters and can't wait to hear more about their lives. Maggie is a new teacher at the posh school, Downey House. Simone is a scholarship student, Fliss is the sister of an upper classman but none of these characters can seem to find their way. I think I could see a little of me in each of these characters.

I love Jenny Colgan's books so I wasn't prepared for the disappointment I experienced when I read this one. Maybe it's intended for a younger reader, although in that case I would have expected it to be told from the point of view of a student entirely. I can only say that the premise simply didn't make much sense to me. Who decides to pick up stakes and take another job in a distant area of the country, leaving behind a live in boyfriend AND their DOG!!! In the vernacular, who does that?! The book seemed like it was written by someone too young to be in print. I'll keep reading Jenny Colgan's books but I don't think I will bother with the later books in this particular series. But then, who knows? Maybe the series will improve as it goes along... I've given it three stars but two and a half would be more appropriate.

The first book of a new series, this charming boarding school based story in an idyllic Cornwall setting shows all of the Colgan trademarks — warm and relatable characters finding their way in an initially uncomfortable environment. Maggie is the new teacher at the posh school, fresh from a far more working-class Glaswegian position; Simone is a scholarship student who is as different from the other students as she could possibly be; Fliss hates that she has been sent to boarding school and is ready to do anything to get back home. Colgan lets us know in the introduction how much she has always wanted to write a set of boarding school books, having loved them herself growing up. She’s already started on book 2 and a teaser is included!

I wanted to love this, but I found the multiple points of view a bit jarring and the writing was a bit bland.

Previously published under the name Jane Beaton, Colgan has re-released Welcone to the Sea through the eyes of Maggie, a teacher who came from an inner school setting to a wealthy boarding school and multiple students, many who don't what it is like to be poor. There is however, one student on scholarship.

The character development was strong throughout the book and we learn a lot about the school, Maggie and her boyfriend. I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to the rest of the series.

This was originally published in 2008 under the author’s pen name (Jane Beaton) and is being republished. It is a well-written novel about a boarding school by the sea in Cornwall, and the reader is able to follow some very likable and interesting characters through a whole school year, including the newest teacher at the school (Maggie), a student who does not want to be there (Fliss); and the unhappy scholarship student (Simone). Although a bit repetitious at times, as well as somewhat predictable at points, this was a quick, fun read.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Another lost soul trying to find themselves in this new series kickoff from Colgan. The story takes place in a girl's school. Characters are interesting and well developed. Great start to this new series.

Welcome to the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan was previously published using a pen name, Jane Beaton. It is her first book in her Maggie Adair series. I really enjoyed this book set in a boarding school on the coast of Cornwall.

Maggie Adair is a schoolteacher, working in an inner-city school in Glasgow where she grew up. She’s increasingly frustrated with the school, and her boyfriend she’s had since they were both in school together. She decides that it might be her last chance to get out of there and she applies to an elite boarding school in Cornwall to be an English teacher for girls.

When she is accepted at the school, she’s eager for a change, but her family and her boyfriend are not so enthusiastic. She’s in charge of a bunch of girls who test her limits, but nothing as unruly as the children in her previous school.

We also see the school through the eyes of Fliss, Simone, and Alice all get up to some trouble as they navigate their first year at boarding school.

I enjoyed this sweet story about the boarding school and I liked that it was from the perspective of a new teacher, two of the students, and the headmistress. The book covered one school year and finished when everyone left for summer break. I can’t wait to read the next book and see what happens to these characters in their next year at the school

The author does a fabulous job of describing the school and the grounds and I felt like I was there with the students. The characters are interesting and realistic, each with enough flaws to make them feel real without making them unappealing.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys women's fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Cornwall, UK - Present Day

Maggie Adair is starting a new job at a prestigious boarding school in Cornwall. Since graduating, she has taught at the inner city Glasgow school that she had attended. Maggie wants to spread her wings, away from her parents, away from her boyfriend, Stan, and just see what it's like elsewhere. There is no way she'd want to stay away from home forever, but one has to see what the rest of the world is like. With her interview behind her, an acceptance letter in hand, Maggie begins her adventure at Downey House.

Living and teaching at a school for all girls is a big step for Maggie. With her background in a city school where keeping the students' attention, and settling squabbles were high in her daily routine, having a mostly attentive class is a bit of a shock. But Maggie is quick to discover the potential trouble-makers. New "best" friends, Alice and Felicity (Fliss), have decided to target scholarship student, and a daughter of immigrants, Simone. Poor Simone, chubby, extremely shy, and yet obviously brilliant, retreats into her shell, eating the food her mother keeps sending her, and avoiding any confrontations. Maggie takes her under her wing, lending her books, and trying to draw her out of her avoidance behavior.

Maggie also has to adjust to having an immediate supervisor, Miss Starling, who clearly hints to Maggie that she's not up to Miss Starling's standards. And the Headteacher, Dr. Deveral, who initially interviewed Maggie, and has taken a chance on this young Scottish teacher, who intimidates Maggie with her calm, cool demeanor. But soon, Maggie begins to settle into the school routine, although she misses Stan, who thinks Maggie has no business leaving her roots to teach in a place so far away.

WELCOME TO THE SCHOOL BY THE SEA is the first book in Jenny Colgan's new series, and it's a delight. Readers are introduced to each character at the beginning of the novel, who they are, their reasons for being delighted, or hating the idea of Downey House, and what their hopes are for the future. Maggie's inner city upbringing is questioned by both the Headteacher, Miss Starling, and the students, who will test her along the way. How she handles all that is thrown at her is humorous, poignant, and enlightening.

So this might be a little confusing for Jenny Colgan readers, and if your new to her books....where have you been! Jenny originally wrote books under the name Jane Beaton and had written this series originally called Class. There are three books in this series, Class,Rules,and Lessons now called Welcome to the Little School by the Sea. I have everyone of Jenny's books so I was excited to pull my copies to compare. I love that she is reintroducing the series under her own name and with a new pretty cover.
Maggie feels stuck in her life and career. Shes been with Stan forever and she's not sure if he'll ever propose, or if she even wants him to. When an opportunity to teach at a prestigious boarding school comes about Maggie thinks this may be her way out of Glasglow. The Downey House School for Girls will be way different then the students she teaches now, but Maggie wants to try something new, even when Stan and her family don't think she's good enough to get the job.
All of the girls have their quirks and issues and Simone just wants to fit in. She has gotten a scholarship and really wants to make friends and make her parents proud. She is so different from her classmates as they come from families with money and she does not. As a newcomer fingers are immediately pointed in her direction when items start going missing. Of course it's the poor new girl right?
Maggie will take on a lot when she accepts the position, but the job will give back and people will start to see her worth.

Shifting point of views was off putting from the first moments. Very messy. Incoherent and unsure what or who was narrating. DNF

What a wonderful beginning to a series! I'm a big fan of Jenny Colgan's romances, but this is different. It's an ensemble cast all coming together at a fancy boarding school in Cornwall, England. The main character, Maggie, is surprised when she's hired to teach 9th-grade English. She'd been teaching at an inner-city school in Glasgow and is in a dull relationship with a long-time boyfriend. She decides to give it a try. The cast also includes a painfully shy, bright, poor girl, Simone. Felicity, a spoiled brat whose only real fault is she's young. Veronica, the director of the school, who has been hiding a heartbreaking secret for years. All of them go through various trials and challenges; they fail, and try again, and ultimately it's just fine reading. I wanted more on every one of them. And yay, I'm going to get it, because this is the first book in the series. I believe it's an updating of an old series, but I'm very eager to read the entire thing ASAP. Thanks to the publisher for this advance read.