I'm conflicted. A lot of lessons from the boarding school stories stayed with me as an adult and I didn't really internalize any of the meanness or classism. On one hand, there is a theme of valuing education for its own sake regardless of gender. The girls never think less of themselves for their gender and are encouraged to pursue their passions, whether that's their vocations or college. Even Ms. Grayling's speech is about being women that the world can lean on. There are lessons that resonated with me: don't be a tattletale, don't cheat yourself by not working hard, handle your shit. I guess I read Malory Towers first and St Clare's, which is a lot bitchier, when I was older. The classist storyline about how Sheila is insecure about her non-elegant manners and speech and how the girls make fun of her for it always made me uncomfortable, even as a child. But there are also non-British non-snobby characters who are the best-written characters of the book, including Claudine and Carlotta. Also, Alicia gets her comeuppance (sort of) for being bitchy and mellows out by the last book.

They are very mean to Alison, I agree.