Construction of a north wing gets under way and the familiar shape of the school - three sides of a rectangle, with a close in the middle, emerges. The close (The Close) becomes, and remains for the next four decades, a popular spot for religious pageants, concerts and gym displays.

The girls are often called upon to lend a hand – to pass a hammer (or use it), to dig and plant and weed, and they help to hew and mould the grounds into shape. Miss Darke holds gardening competitions, and although the resulting flower beds are often bizarre, she instils a love of gardening in some of the girls.

By 1937 driveways, circular and straight, curl around the school and give access to the outside world. Miss Darke is one of the few members of staff to possess a motor car.