Fern Francis

Fern Francis is a student at St Clare's School, and the main antagonist in The Third Form at St Clares, her sole appearance.

Backstory
When Libby Francis and Fern were little, Libby pulled the head off Fern's favourite doll. Will Francis fixed it, and ever since, Fern has treated him like a hero.

At her last school, Fern played a princess in a costume drama. The dress she wore was white satin, with lace.

Storylines
Fern comes to stay with her Aunt Polly and Uncle Tom, whilst her parents are abroad. She first meets Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan, and Carlotta Brown, when they stop on the way to school to see the horses and chat to Libby. Libby informs them that they are starting as day girls in the third form. The girls mention Alison O'Sullivan. On the first morning, Fern introduces herself to Alison, much to the displeasure of Rachel Denman, who is already friends with Alison. Fern and Rachel bicker over sitting next to Alison, enraging Miss Adams. Fern suggests doing a costume drama for the third form's play, to the scorn of Rachel. She mentions her friend Sara Jameson, who went to the same drama school as Rachel. When Rachel has an odd reaction to this news, Fern makes up her mind to find out why from Sara. That weekend, Carlotta spends the day over with Libby, and Fern is jealous of the fuss everyone makes and how much they like her. She now completely hates Rachel and Carlotta.

When Lady Dorinda's Diamonds is chosen as the third's play, Fern makes a jealous comment to make Alison resent Rachel, by suggesting that Rachel kept the play a secret from Alison, but Alison responds that Rachel asked her to keep it a secret, This annoys Fern, the thought that Alison and Rachel had a secret together she wasn't in on. Fern rehearses hard for the lead part of Lady Dorinda. Carlotta comes to the Oaks to ride a horse, and Fern hears her mention that she mustn't be late to the auditions. To make Carlotta late and the third form annoyed with her, Fern puts the stable clock back one hour. She tries for the part of Lady Dorinda, but she can't act and Gladys Hillman is given the role. Fern is given a small role with one line. Fern is at Libby's birthday party along with the rest of the third form. At the end, the third discuss having a midnight feast for Pat and Isabel's birthday. Carlotta is dubious about the day girls coming, but backs down when Janet Robins calls her a hypocrite. Fern is delighted to be invited, as she has a plan to get Carlotta in trouble. She behaves extra well over the next few weeks.

At half-term, Fern invites out Alison, but Alison has already agreed to go out with Rachel, annoying Fern. Fern turns up on the day with Sara, her friend from Rachel's old school, and over half-term, Sara tells her all the details of Rachel's secret. After half-term, the third formers hold a rehearsal, whilst Carlotta is over at the Oaks, and Fern persists in fluffing her one line, to annoy Rachel, who is directing. Rachel loses her temper and sacks Fern, telling her she can take Libby's non-speaking role. Fern is furious at the humiliation, and promptly spills the beans on Rachel: She was sent away from her drama school for not having enough talent. Rachel bursts into tears and runs out, leaving Fern triumphant for a few moments, before the rage and disgust of the third form descends on her. She is thoroughly scolded for her behaviour, and thrown out. Carlotta is determined to make Fern apologise to Rachel, which she does anyway, to straighten things with Alison. Fern volunteers to help out with hair and makeup for the play and accepts her sacking graciously. She also makes cakes for the feast.

On the day of the feast, Fern pulls a sickie, to get out of going to school, and to appear too unwell to go to the feast, so that Libby would leave her behind. Then, when she knows that the feast is underway, she telephones Miss Theobald's office. Mam'zelle picks up, and Fern sneaks on the third form to get Carlotta in trouble. However, she is caught by Will, who rides over and gets Libby out just in time, as they all know they will be in bigger trouble if she is found there too. The next morning, Fern manages to avoid Libby for most of the morning, but eventually Libby gets hold of her and gives her a dressing down, whereupon Fern discovers that her plan failed, and she was in disgrace with her cousins for nothing, because Carlotta was in the sickbay, not at the feast. The third form are furious when they discover that Fern is the cause of their disgrace, and on Monday, she does her best to avoid them. She cannot put it off forever, and the third form give Fern a dressing down, sending her to Coventry.

Doris Elward loses her voice, the scenery is ruined and Mirabel Unwin sprains her ankle, meaning the play is in jeopardy. Fern overhears Miss Adams saying that if one more thing goes wrong, they may have to pull the plug. She then decides to take Carlotta's embroidery scissors from her locker, and ruin the costumes with her, making it look as if Carlotta is responsible. Afterwards, she goes back to the Oaks, seeing Libby, Will and Carlotta riding together. Her jealousy overpowers her, and she climbs bareback onto Rocky the horse. As Rocky walks forward, Fern realises that she has bitten off more than she can chew, and Rocky bolts, determined to unseat Fern at all costs. Carlotta and Will chase after her, while Libby stays for if they need to call for an ambulance. Carlotta calms Rocky down, but Aunt Polly runs up, frantic with worry, and in the panic, Rocky strikes Carlotta on the back of her head with his hoof. Fern is taken to hospital in the car, and Carlotta goes by ambulance. Fern does not return to St Clares, but is very sorry for all the trouble she caused.