Ribblestrop

""Roofless dormitories, distracted teachers and a lethally dangerous underground labyrinth -- Ribblestrop's visionary headmaster is out of his depth even before the pupils arrive! And when they do -- what a bunch!""

Ribblestrop is a children's novel written by Andy Mulligan.

Ribblestrop Academy is not for the faint of heart. This is a place with the motto "Life is Dangerous", where students smoke, drink, and use weapons -- in defense of the school, and to keep themselves warm. The roof of the building is all but nonexistent, although to be fair, that's not exactly their fault; blame the arson attack last term. It also has an underground labyrinth, which beckons.

But don't think too hard on that. Although Ribblestrop has all the trappings of a thriller, it has an extremely healthy sense of humor and absurdity to boot, showing us that school isn't as sane as it first appears.

Has a sequel called Return to Ribblestrop. Thematically, the series is similar to Wayside School, but crazier.

Tropes in Ribblestrop include:

 * Cool Teacher: Pretty much every teacher.
 * Darker and Edgier: Word of God claims that the books are an unsanitized version of the schools in the works of Enid Blyton.
 * Fish Out of Water: Sam, who soon gets used to the weird.
 * Mood Whiplash: After the first night scene, well.
 * Shown Their Work: The author has taught at various boarding and grammar schools in England, so he knows how brutal school can get.