On the first day of the new term Karen arrives to find the alarms going off and is annoyed by caretaker Rob Scotcher's cavalier attitude,though Rob's son Aiden proves a hit with both Jess and Vicki.Pupil Ali abandons and then reclaims her baby in the school grounds and plans to run off with the child and Kyle,who is assumed to be the father. However when her mother and aggressive,unpleasant stepfather arrive a family secret is laid bare,which allows Ali and her mother to rear the child together. New teachers Daniel Chalk and Elaine Chaudry start work,Elaine having a run-in with Sambucca over her erratic behaviour. A sympathetic Tom takes Sambucca home,only to witness her having a fit. Written by don @ minifie-1

Finn is back,bullying withdrawn Martin Dunbar,who is caught looking at lingerie magazines and patrolling the girls' cloak-room. However Chris discovers that Martin is desperate for a sex change operation and arranges counselling. Tom forces Rose to tell him the truth about Sambucca - she has a cancerous brain tumour. Rob gives Daniel a pep talk,as he is being mocked by pupils recognizing his lack of confidence. Rob also impresses Karen by setting up a Careers Fair,where Grantly's cynicism does little for the teaching profession. Aiden continues to date both Jess and Vicki. Written by don @ minifie-1

Amy discovers she has a stalker,who turns out to be shy,asthmatic Stuart Foley,whom Eleanor advises to stand up to his bullying father. Eleanor organizes a project where the sixth-formers film themselves but it ends in disaster. Finn and Josh break the uninsured camera and Stuart uses it to expose his father's affair with Amy's mother,leading to Karen disciplining Eleanor. Sambucca has filmed herself explaining she has terminal cancer but it is only seen by a tearful Finn. Janeece gives Daniel a make-over whilst Rob,as well as warning Aiden to behave himself with the girls given what happened at his last school, tells Karen he is on an Open University course and hopes to teach. Written by don @ minifie-1

New pupil Evie Prior has trouble fitting in and when Finn sticks up for her Sambucca's friends accuse Evie of trying to steal him. Ultimately Evie confesses to Chris that she is really Alicia Cross,under police protection for killing her toddler cousin but the revelation of her secret means she has to move on. Whilst Aiden,romancing Jess,is seeing Vicki behind Ronan's back,his father goes on a date with Karen after she has helped him with an essay. This fact is picked up by Eleanor,angry with Karen who,she feels,underrates her and who makes Karen aware she knows what is going on. Having been out with Karen Rob returns home to find his estranged wife has turned up. Written by don @ minifie-1

Rob's wife Naomi comes to see Karen,telling her that he is still with her but Rob makes it clear to Naomi they are finished as a couple whilst Vicki finally tells Jess about Aiden's duplicity. Twins Shona and Rhona Mansfield are the subject of a tug of love between single mother Sandi and leather-clad biker grandma Bette,Shona's preferred guardian,to be decided in court. On the day that Karen is opening a community cafe in the school in the presence of director of education Richard Whitman Bette chains herself to the school railings and feigns an asthma attack. This results in Shona seeing through her and wanting to live with Rhona and her mother but the embittered Eleanor uses it to show Whitman that she believes the school is incompetent and unable to keep order. Written by don @ minifie-1

Aiden and Ronan have a fight in class,allowing Daniel to show his authority and his compassion when he listens to Denzil's fear of losing Sambucca. Rob has a heart-to-heart with his son,building up Naomi's hopes that they can reunite as a family unit. Lauren and Finn,followed by Tom,take Sambucca to find her long-lost father in Blackpool,only to learn he is serving life for murder. Back home Sambucca dies in the arms of Rose and Tom after Finn has told her he will never forget her. After recent events Karen hires P.R. woman Linda Wilks to give the school a positive image. However Whitman pays an unannounced visit,tipped off by Eleanor,making his disapproval of the P.R. exercise and the school to Karen. Written by don @ minifie-1

With exams looming Karen is hoping for good results as Whitman has served her with a notice to close the school unless its standards improve. At Sambucca's memorial service emotions are running high and when new girl Scout accidentally steals Sambucca's jumper Denzil snaps. Ronan is surprisingly generous when Vicki learns that she is pregnant by Aiden but there is a shock for Karen when Jess tells her that the boy has impregnated her as well. This is too much for Naomi who moves on. Written by don @ minifie-1

New girl Jody Allen,known as Scout,is dirty and prone to sleeping in class. Visiting her slatternly mother Chris is shocked to learn that she allows Scout to run drugs for her for extra money and he buys the drugs from Scout on condition she stops dealing. The police are called and Scout suspended but Eleanor is quick to use the situation against Karen. However even she is shocked to learn that Whitman wants to close down the whole school. At mock student elections Jess and Vicki begin as rivals but end up renewing their friendship and deciding to keep their babies. Written by don @ minifie-1

Chris organizes a scheme for the pupils to clear a community garden but Scout and Denzil disappear after her mother has rung to say she is going away for a few days,leaving Scout in charge of 3-year old brother Liam. There is panic when Liam goes missing and eventually Chris takes Scout and Liam into his flat. Ronan is reunited with Vicki,offering support when she miscarries and Karen guesses that Eleanor betrayed her. Ultimately Eleanor confesses and offers to resign but Karen tells her that if she is genuinely sorry she will show a united front with the rest of the staff at the upcoming inspection,which Whitman hopes will close the school. Written by don @ minifie-1

Inspector Alison Drew comes to appraise the school with a view to its survival but matters are not helped when Chris absents himself to pursue Scout,who has run off with Liam to prevent them being taken into separate care homes and when Finn and Josh joy-ride in Tom's car. However Eleanor,seeking to atone for her past actions,rallies staff and pupils into a mass protest,ensuring it gets maximum press coverage,denouncing Whitman for using her in a vendetta against the school. Alison is impressed and the school survives. Chris finds a foster home where Scout can be with Liam but resigns from the school whilst Karen and Rob,newly qualified as a teacher,also move on together with their children,Aiden promising Jess he will stand by her. Written by don @ minifie-1

Karen's replacement is new broom principal Michael Byrne,who fails to impress Janeece,whom he sends on an administration course,and Grantly. He does make Tom deputy head,having virtually promised the role to Sian Diamond,who joins the staff with recently-wed husband Jez - who tells the others that Sian and Michael were once a couple. Finn falls for new pupil Trudi,falling foul of her brother,gang leader Tariq Siddiqui,who joy-rides in Ronan's car,Michael's failure to expel Siddiqui being another source of grievance with the old guard. After discovering that brothers Phoenix and Harley Taylor have been covering up the recent death of their grandma,with whom they live,for fear of being returned to their drunk father,Michael threatens ex-pupil Wayne Johnson,recently acquitted in court of the attempted murder of the headmaster. Written by don @ minifie-1

Michael makes Sian and Tom joint deputies and gives an impassioned speech to persuade more students to take 'A' Level English in the wake of Grantly's efforts to scupper his initiative. The school is interrupted by Sarah,Jez's bitter ex-wife who turns up and dumps their children on him, pleasant Zack and extremely stroppy Madi,who makes a show of herself at Vicki and Ronan's flat-warming - where Tariq warns Fin off his sister - as well as ruining the Diamonds'dinner party for their colleagues. Michael discovers that Phoenix Taylor has deliberately set his father Nelson up to appear as a drunk out of spite when Nelson has been dry for years. Matt encourages Scout's talents on the guitar. Written by don @ minifie-1

Grantly is annoyed that Michael has appointed Linda Radleigh over him as Head of English but Linda has her work cut out on her first day,being charged to look after Emily James . Emily's sister Lindsay is being released from Young Offender Unit after killing their abusive father but is planning to move to Leeds to make a fresh start. Emily goes after her and has to be rescued by Linda after accepting a lift. Daniel ends up in hospital after overdoing his keep fit exercises to impress Janeece and Finn and Trudi agree to meet in secret whilst Denzil steals a guitar for Scout - who tells him that Liam is now in care. Written by don @ minifie-1

Phoenix begins to hit it off with Nelson,to the extent that Michael must insist he stops truanting to work with his father on the building site whilst Daniel impresses Scout and the members of Matt's orchestra with his prowess on the guitar. Vicki is stressed out,revising for resits and,after Ronan has borrowed money from Madi as a tide-over for the rent,she becomes jealous and hits him. However she walks into a shelf and Ronan is accused of hitting her. Jez organizes a rugby match against St Mary's School,aided by ex-pro Ken,who drops Zack from the team. Matters are not helped by the tension between team members Finn and Tariq and hostility towards Ronan. Fimally Vicki makes a public announcement exonerating Roanan and they are reconciled. After the match Linda and Michael share a kiss. Written by don @ minifie-1

Vicki sees a counsellor whilst Matt becomes a sperm donor for his friend Rosie. Matt is not happy when Michael wants him to include Tariq in the school orchestra but is impressed when Daniel records Tariq rapping. In an effort to leave home Scout gets a job as a night carer for a woman with Multiple Sclerosis,lying that she has experience in a retirement home. However Emily steals the woman's drugs and gets high at school,leading to Scout having to quit. Michael tries to distance himself from Linda after their little fling though Linda tells Sian. There is more trouble for Michael when an aggressive Wayne Johnson turns up at school,blaming him for his homelessness. A fight ensues,which spills out onto the road and Wayne is run over,the whole thing being captured on film by Phoenix Taylor. Written by don @ minifie-1

Madi and Zak are mugged on the way to school,prompting Jez to start a boxing class but when Zack floors Hartley it seems doomed. However Tariq proves to be excellent at ju-jitsu and Michael asks him to lead the self defence groups. Finn attempts to befriend Tariq in the hopes that it will soften his attitude towards Finn and Trudi. However,after Finn has betrayed a confidence to Ronan about Tariq being bullied in the Young Offender Unit there is a fight and Tariq is identified by staff as the agressor. Michael pockets the disc from the school's CCTV security camera showing his fight with Wayne Johnson but is alarmed when he receives an email showing the fight and his house is broken into. Daniel gets into Linda's good books by taking her rabbit Roger to the vet though Roger causes havoc when he gets loose in the school. Written by don @ minifie-1

Michael tries unsuccessfully to discover the sender of yet another email and,after the local press expose his salary,is consoled by Sian,whom he tells of his break-in. A new teaching assistant,Greg Barrington,arrives and quickly gets Tom to tell him his grievances about Michael. However he is an undercover journalist out to discredit Michael and is exposed by Tariq. After yet another argument Vicki and Ronan decide to call it a day whilst Matt is attracted to the joys of fatherhood when Rosie announces her pregnancy. Sian arrives at Michael's house saying she wants to leave Jez and rekindle her affair with the head. They kiss but are observed by Linda,who is displeased with Michael after he accused her of employing Greg without checking his credentials. Written by don @ minifie-1

Michael is now being targeted by a stalker who rings him at all hours and keys his car. He has a very fraught day when local benefactress Margaret Harker visits the school with a view to donating money. Firstly he discovers during a class that Phoenix was sending him the emails and gives him a hundred pounds for the evidence. Then new pupil Freddie Jackson collapses playing football and it is discovered that he has had a heart transplant,making him the object of bullying and ridicule. However,during a debate on freedom,he wins the sympathy and admiration of the school with an impassioned speech,as well as securing funds from Margaret. Scout and Emily get matching tattoos whilst Finn gets drunk in front of Trudi,making a fool of himself. Written by don @ minifie-1

Local radio DJ Viv O'Donnell comes to give a masterclass in radio journalism, but Trudi's admission that she is subject of an arranged marriage she does not want is accidentally broadcast to the school. Viv's shy daughter Andi is victimised by Scout and Emily but reconciled with her mother after trying to prove she is sexually experienced and throwing herself at an embarrassed Ronan. Angry that Michael has blamed him for Andi and Ronan skipping school together and believing his work is considered inferior to Sian's,Tom resigns,only to witness Jez,who has discovered his wife's infidelity,punch the headmaster. All this makes Madi's contribution to Viv's project,that the move to Waterloo Road was good for her family,seem somewhat ironic. Written by don @ minifie-1

Jez turns up at school and spreads the news of Sian and Michael's affair and resigns on the spot, leaving the staff worried that the prize giving ceremony will be far from the focus of the day. Grantly later confronts Michael to tell him that Jez is intending to make a formal complaint to the Governors, and it soon begins to appear to Sian that her mess cannot be tidied when he pulls Madi and Zach out of class and is set on going to Ireland with them. Nearby, Wayne Johnson slips into the school after waking from his coma with a strong urge to get revenge on Michael for the last time. Michael's last day of term begins badly, when he finds a threatening note left on his car dashboard. Linda's reputation slacks more and more after facing Sian about her affair and then watching her being dragged off into a classroom by Wayne, hesitant about her actions. Eventually the secret unfolds and Michael finally gets the opportunity to look into the eyes of his stalker. Elsewhere, Emily tries to ... Written by Anonymous

Following the hit and run Tom and Jez return for the new term,Tom unaware that Josh is into drugs. Jez is prime suspect for running Michael over but,now back with Sian,dare not confess that he was with Janeece. However Daniel eventually tumbles to the truth and Linda is arrested. A hulking youth Mason Price joins the school,having been released from Young Offender Centre where he knew Tariq and immediately goads Tariq into joining his gang the D.S.C.Finn takes against Price and is hi-jacked by the gang,who force him to have a knife fight with Finn. Fortunately Trudi rings the police and alerts Daniel,who confiscates the knife. However Kyle sees the gang as his means of getting at Finn whilst Grantly falls foul of new canteen cook Maggie,after criticizing her cuisine. Written by don @ minifie-1

Price is expelled and Tariq only avoids exclusion himself due to Daniel's intervention. As elections for head boy and girl are imminent Daniel suggests Tariq stand whilst Trudi and Finn's views on freedom cause Michael to suggest them as candidates, Trudi and Finn eventually winning. When Tariq refuses to be part of the DSC Kyle Stack,now a member of the gang, gets him to handle a knife that was used in a robbery whilst Tom discovers Josh's drugs habit and Sian is shocked when Lauren tells her she is contemplating breast enlargement for work as a model. Grantly sets ...

Josh's efforts to kick the drugs are threatened when dealer Grady,whom he fancies,persuades him to make another purchase. Two candidates arrive for interview to replace Linda. Tom is unimpressed by hard liner Nicki Boston when she tries to give him her opinion regarding Josh but warms to her when she pursues and catches Grady and she gets the job,leaving the other candidate Vanessa to ask Michael out. As part of their role as head pupils Trudi and Finn are given a video camera to make a film about the school but the vengeful Kyle uses it to film them in an intimate ...

Matt is worried when premature baby daughter Martha needs extra care and relieved when she pulls through but he is desolate to learn that Rosie has started a relationship with Alex,the doctor who saved Martha,and plans to move to Bristol with him and the baby. Zack gets it into his head that Jez is not his father and takes a DNA test. Jez initially sees this as an attempt by Zack to get his attention and tells him that he loves him whatever the outcome,though it turns out that they are father and son. Candora,the cosmetics firm for which Maggie and Grantly have been acting as agents, goes bust,leading to a truce between them whilst Josh's behaviour gets more bizarre and he ends up injuring himself in class. a doctor tells Tom the boy may have schizophrenia brought on by his drug abuse and suggests psychiatric treatment. Written by don @ minifie-1

Trudi confides in Tariq that she is pregnant by Finn but they agree to keep it quiet and she arranges for an abortion. After Josh freaks out in Nicki's class Tom tells his son about his suspected condition and suggests they see a psychiatrist. Grantly's wife Fleur deteriorates and he walks out of school,leaving a letter of resignation,to take her away from her care home to the cottage where they spent their honeymoon. Tom follows and persuades him to return Fleur to the home,where she dies,having recognized Grantly. Back at school Michael refuses to accept the resignation and grants him compassionate leave,Harley being an unexpected comforter. In the light of Grantly's loss Janeece announces that she and Craig,a boyfriend she has only recently met,are getting engaged. Written by don @ minifie-1

Grantly returns to school less than a week after his wife's death and is supported by Harley,as well as Maggie,to whom he is becoming close. On the day of the school fun run star athlete Mercedes Garvey injures her ankle and when Jez takes her home she misreads the signs and throws herself at him. After he has rejected her she claims he made a pass at her and Tom has to get the truth out of her. Her brother Eugene belongs to the Murray Set Boyz and DSC members Kyle and Tariq set out to pick a fight with him. Craig publicly proposes to Janeece whilst Trudi dumps Finn without telling him of her pregnancy and Sian tells Jez their marriage is over. Written by don @ minifie-1

Jez moves out. Josh returns to school but takes himself off his medication. Whilst researching for his project about plague victim John Ingleby he becomes obsessed with a plague pit under the school. At a seance Emily tricks him into believing that Ingleby is trying to contact him,which has a disastrous effect on him during an exam. Finn and Trudi reconcile but only after she has had an abortion,leaving him distressed that he never told her of the pregnancy and,to avenge himself on Tariq and Kyle,he joins Eugene Garvey's gang. Janeece is stood up by Craig on her wedding day and Daniel discovers not only that he has robbed her and cleared her account but is known to the police for doing it before. However at the reception Janeece convinces the guests that she dumped Craig. Written by don @ minifie-1

Alcohol-addicted pupil Shelby Dixon persuades Madi,who has turned eighteen,to celebrate in the pub and the girls return to school the worse for drink. Jez accuses Shelby of influencing Madi and gets into a fight with Shelby's father,Alan,who just happens to be the Head of Education. Things get worse as Kyle is selling illegally-imported Russian vodka and Nicki catches Shelby paying for it with sex. Kyle is expelled and Finn resigns as head boy after being caught fighting with his gang rivals whilst Jez also quits and takes his children with him. Grantly and Maggie go on a date whilst former pupil Lorraine Donnegan,now a millionaire business woman,asks Michael to be the head of a new,independent but non-fee-paying school she wants to open as a model of excellence. Written by don @ minifie-1

Scout falls for Ukrainian pupil and would-be football star Danilo,an asylum seeker, and they agree to get married,despite Phoenix's attempts to stop Scout. When Danilo fails to show for football practice Phoenix alerts Tom and he and Sian dash to the registry office. The wedding has been performed but it illegal and Danilo will be deported. More upsetting for Scout is the news that it was a marriage of convenience to get Danilo's visa, for which his brother paid Scout's mother.As a result Scout calls the police to arrest her. Kyle slips into school and,after trying to steal Lorraine's credit card,disrupts Nicki's class with the Mansfield twins restoring order. Finn is dared to torch a lock-up by the Murray gang,unaware that Trudi's sister Naseem is inside,leading to his risking his life to save her. The two gangs confront each other but are dispersed by Michael's arrival. Later in the day Michael attends a local education authority meeting and is told that Waterloo Road is to be ... Written by don @ minifie-1

On the last day of term when the school is preparing for the prom Michael arrives to find that Alan Dixon has already sent letters to the staff announcing Waterloo Road's closure. However he tells them he has agreed to run Lorraine's school and invites them to come with him,most of them agreeing despite it being in Scotland. He gives a motivational speech to the pupils telling them they represent the spirit of the school and will take anybody who wants with him as Maggie,previously a care worker,will be superintending a lodgings house. Josh returns to school,improved in his mental health, but Eugene Garvey's gang,seeing Finn as a traitor after his rescuing Naseem,capture him though they are observed by Ronan,who alerts Tom and they rescue Josh. However he has overheard that Kyle and Tariq are planning to smuggle a crossbow into the prom to fire at Finn. Kyle takes his position as the dance starts but Tariq,unable to see it through,alerts Michael,who calls the police. Kyle fires but ... Written by don @ minifie-1