The Head of Kay's facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | P. G. Wodehouse |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | A & C Black |
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Publication date
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5 October 1905 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
The Head of Kay's is an exciting novel written by the famous English author P. G. Wodehouse. It was first released on October 5, 1905, by A & C Black. Before becoming a full book, the story appeared in parts in a magazine called The Captain. This happened between October 1904 and March 1905.
The story takes place at a fictional boarding school for boys called Eckleton. It focuses on one of the school's special groups, or "houses," named Kay's. This house is known for its lively and sometimes wild students. The housemaster, Mr. Kay, is not very popular and often struggles to connect with the boys. The main character, Kennedy, becomes the new student leader, or "head boy," of Kay's. The book is full of fun pranks, school sports like cricket and rugby, and the challenges of leading a group of energetic boys.
Plot Summary: Leading Kay's House
The story begins with Fenn, who is the student leader of Kay's House. Kay's is the most difficult house to manage at Eckleton School. Fenn tries his best to keep things in order. However, Mr. Kay, the housemaster, makes his job harder. Mr. Kay is very demanding and often criticizes Fenn.
Fenn is a talented cricketer. His housemates look up to him because he almost single-handedly helped their cricket team reach the finals. But Mr. Kay does not care much about the cricket cup. He stops Fenn from playing part of the final match after they argue. This causes Kay's House to lose the game, which makes everyone in the house upset.
At the end of the term, Mr. Kay organizes a school concert. Fenn is one of the performers. He plays a lively song that makes the students, especially those from Kay's, stomp their feet loudly. This makes Mr. Kay very angry. He tries to calm everyone down, but the students keep stomping. They then start leaving quickly after Fenn finishes his song. The concert ends early because of this. This incident makes Mr. Kay dislike Fenn even more. Fenn expects more trouble with Mr. Kay next term.
During the summer break, Fenn plays cricket. His friends, Kennedy and Jimmy Silver, go to an army-style camp. They are both from Blackburn's House. An unpleasant boy from Kay's, named Walton, causes problems at the camp. Everyone returns to school when the new term begins.
Kennedy enjoys being a prefect in Blackburn's House. That house is much more organized than Kay's. He is surprised to learn that he has been chosen to lead Kay's House instead of Fenn. This happened because Mr. Kay disapproved of Fenn. The students in Kay's are already hard to control. They do not like Kennedy taking Fenn's place. This makes Kennedy's job of keeping order even tougher.
Fenn and Kennedy are both annoyed by the situation. They have a disagreement and stop being friends for a while. Walton is the biggest troublemaker in Kay's. Kennedy decides the only way to stop him is to win a fight against him. They follow boxing rules, and Jimmy acts as a timekeeper. Walton cheats by hitting Kennedy illegally. Jimmy tries to stop the fight, but Kennedy keeps going and defeats Walton. After this victory, Kay's House becomes less rebellious. However, it is still a very lively house, just as it was when Fenn was in charge.
One night, Fenn secretly leaves school to go to the nearby town's theater. He wants to see a show written by his older brother. He spots Mr. Kay and two other teachers in the audience. He tries to sneak back to school without being seen. But he gets lost. A stranger in town steals his pocket watch. He also loses his prefect's cap before he finally gets back to Eckleton late at night.
He sees Mr. Kay, who is looking for a burglar. Fenn pretends he is also awake because of the burglar. Fenn worries he might be expelled for leaving school without permission. This would happen if his cap is found, as it has his name inside. Jimmy helps Fenn and Kennedy become friends again. The Headmaster returns Fenn's cap to him. Fenn is not in trouble because the cap was found among items taken by burglars, who have now been caught.
Kennedy and Fenn are now friends again. They work together to bring order to their house. Mr. Kay leaves the school, and a kinder teacher, Mr. Dencroft, becomes the new housemaster. Under Kennedy and Fenn's leadership, their house, now called Dencroft's, performs much better in sports. Dencroft's narrowly loses to Blackburn's in the inter-house rugby cup. But they manage to score the most points overall in a series of races and other contests. This helps them win the sports' cup. Kennedy notes that this is the first trophy Dencroft's has won. Jimmy says that it will not be the last.
Key Characters in the Story
- Robert Fenn: He is the student leader of Kay's House at the beginning. Later, he becomes the second prefect.
- Kennedy: He starts as a prefect in Blackburn's House. He then takes over from Fenn as the head of Kay's House.
- Jimmy Silver: He is the head of Blackburn's House. He is also the older brother of Billy Silver, who is a member of Kay's.
- Walton: A difficult and aggressive student in Kay's House who causes trouble.
- Mr. Kay: The housemaster of Kay's House. He is often fussy and not very effective at managing the boys.
- Mr. Blackburn: The housemaster of Blackburn's House. He is well-liked by his students.
