Chapter II Summary

Brookfield School, established in Elizabethan times, is located in a lovely setting of ancient elms. There is a group of 18th century buildings, a quadrangle and playing fields. The history of the school contained many up and down periods. However, when Mr. Wetherby became its headmaster, the school saw its best days. Despite Wetherby's efforts, Brookfield remained a second-rank school supported in the main by the middle class. The elites would pretend to have never heard of it.

Brookfield, however, was perfectly suited to Mr. Chips in both an academic and social sense. When he was a young, ambitious teacher, Chips had dreams of becoming a headmaster at a first-rate school. As years went by, he realized he was not qualified, neither by character nor education, for such a lofty position. His family was not wealthy or well-connected—he was...