[1] Penn is a troublemaker and is generally disliked by all but two of his teachers, especially Mr Marsh (or ‘Soggy’), who has had it in for him for years.

In this book he discovers that his musical ability is much more extraordinary than he had thought and that he may actually enjoy playing the piano.

In The Beethoven Medal, Pat - now a music student - meets 16-year-old Ruth Hollis (chief character of Fly-By-Night and The Team, also by Peyton).

Pat, now a successful professional musician, and Ruth meet Marion Carver and her widowed father.

Echoes of a medieval past are mixed with the present as Pat embarks on a concert series to raise funds to restore the church Marion has cared for.