# The Headmaster — School Stories character guide

> The Headmaster in School Stories by P. G. Wodehouse.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the headmaster, The headmaster, the Headmaster, The Headmaster

**First appearance:** 0002-now-talking-about-cricket

## Snapshot

The unseen authority whose dislike of friction between school and town shapes every master's judgment, from trespassing boys to indignant neighbours with grievances.

## Who they are

He never appears in person, yet his preferences govern the school's daily life: masters quote his aversion to local disputes as though it were statute. That offstage pressure creates the quiet tension running beneath ordinary school discipline, where a housemaster's punishment may owe as much to the headmaster's peace of mind as to any boy's offence. His invisible standard of conduct is what makes small transgressions matter, and what the stories' comedy of authority quietly measures itself against.

## In the story

### [The Odd Trick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/school_stories_se/chapters/the-odd-trick)

Seen with Merevale at the private entrance, observing Harrison in his nightshirt.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/school_stories_se/chapters/i)

Publicly reprimands Charteris for 'ragging' with juniors, calling him a 'buffoon,' which sparks Charteris's rebellion.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/school_stories_se/chapters/ii)

Punishes Harrison for being out of bounds and buying cigarettes.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/school_stories_se/chapters/vi)

Confronts Charteris about breaking rules, but reduces punishment after learning of his help to Dorothy.

### [The Prize Poem](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/school_stories_se/chapters/the-prize-poem)

Discovers the identical opening lines and interrogates Smith, Montgomery, and Morrison.

### [A Corner in Lines](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/school_stories_se/chapters/a-corner-in-lines)

Grants Dunstable permission to leave school a day early.

### [An International Affair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/school_stories_se/chapters/an-international-affair)

After the illness incident, puts Ring's Stores out of bounds.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/school_stories_se/characters/headmaster
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/school_stories_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/school_stories_se/characters