The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler

Plot summary

The book tells the story of its main characters' final term at Cricklepit Combined School. It is principally narrated by 'Tyke' Tiler, a bold and athletic twelve-year-old with the reputation of being a troublemaker. Tyke's best friend Danny Price has a speech defect, which means Tyke often has to translate for him. Danny has a helpless air which leads him to depend on his often exasperated friend. When Tyke overhears some teachers discussing the possibility of Danny going to a special school next year, the only option seems to be to help Danny to cheat in the assessment test – a plan which naturally backfires.

When Tyke is off sick, Danny is accused of stealing a gold watch and runs away. It is up to Tyke to persuade the headmaster that Martin and Kevin are the guilty ones, and to find Danny.

On the last day of school, Tyke decides to emulate Thomas Tiler, a relative, in climbing up the outside of the school and ringing the school bell, which has been silent for thirty years. When this ends in disaster the headmaster says: "That child has always appeared to me to be on the brink of wrecking this school, and as far as I can see, has, at last, succeeded."

Up to the end of the penultimate chapter the narrative is written without directly revealing the protagonist's gender. The daring nature of Tyke's exploits often leads readers to assume Tyke is a boy, though there are a few scattered clues to the contrary. The story ends with the revelation that Tyke is a girl, her full name being Theodora Tiler.

Characters

Pupils

Theodora "Tyke" Tiler, the narrator

Danny Price, Tyke's best friend

Ian Pitt, "Pitthead"

Linda Stoatway

Patsy Drew

Martin Kneeshaw, "Kneebags", a bully, son of Mr Tiler's political rival

Kevin Simms, "Slime", Martin's friend, another creep

Sandra Hines

Staff

Will Merchant, "Sir", Tyke's form master, a keen historian and the narrator of the final chapter

The Headmaster, "Chief Sir"

Miss Bonn, "Bonfire", another teacher

Mrs Somers, the Deputy Head, Tyke's deadliest enemy

Jenny Honeywell, a pretty student teacher

Mr Buggitt, "Buggsy", the caretaker

Family

Mr Tiler, "Dad", a local councillor

Mrs Tiler, "Mum", a nurse

Beryl Tiler, "Berry", Tyke's older sister

Stanley Tiler, "Spud", Tyke's older brother

Crumble, Tyke's beloved dog

Jokes

Each chapter begins with a suitably juvenile joke, such as:

Q: "Why do you forget a tooth once it's been pulled?" A: "It goes right out of your head!"

For her play based on the book Gene Kemp created a comic character, Harlequin the Joker, to tell the jokes.

Themes

In addition to the children's real-world adventures there is an emphasis throughout the book on chivalry and heroism. A student teacher reads T. H. White's The Once and Future King to the class, which they perform as a pantomime play, and they later re-enact a local battle between Saxons and Normans which appears to be the 1068 siege of Exeter. Both main characters are excited by the stories; Danny in particular is pleased to be compared to Sir Galahad, "His strength was as the strength of ten, because his heart was pure", and he resolves to live up to the comparison.

Literary significance

According to Mary Cadogan in Twentieth-Century Children's Writers, "This truly innovatory book gives new dimensions to the day-school story, and an authoritative boost to feminism. More convincingly than any other juvenile book it demolishes many accepted ideas about aspirational and experiential differences between boys and girls." She added: "The exactly appropriate first person narrative is punctuated by consciously dire playground rhymes and jokes which sharpen its pacy succinctness."