It's all change at Waterloo Road. The school has been merged with local private school John Fosters after it was forced to close when wealthy parents could no longer afford the fees. As a result around a hundred new pupils are enrolled at Waterloo Road and neither the "posh" John Fosters pupils nor the "scuzzy" Waterloo Road kids are happy about it.

Ex John Fosters pupil Amy accuses Bolton of attempted rape, and the James sisters face the funeral of their murdered father.

After a night of passion, Kim and Max are acting like a pair of lovesick puppies, while keeping their burgeoning romance a secret from the rest of the staff, however, there’s a close call when Rachel arrives for that morning’s senior management team meeting.

Luke has a day from hell when the pupils find out about his family life and Max's tough discipline pushes him to breaking point.

Ruby's luxurious lifestyle crashes around her ears, and Max comes under scrutiny.

Christopher's relationship with a Year 12 girl is called into question.

Drama. Quiet Year 10 pupil Cassie Turner claims she is being bullied, and Kim fears the girl gangs are back in full force. However, the truth is something altogether different.

It's the day of Helen's first official inspection and she is desperate to impress, as the drama about a comprehensive school continues. Having just spent the night with Max, she now believes their romance might be reignited.

Drama. Lindsay nervously takes the stand during her mother's trial, and Jo is nominated for an Outstanding Teacher Award.

The governors arrive, keen to gauge the merger's impact, but Rachel does not realise that Max is planning to do what he can to get them to fire her. The children excitedly prepare for the Waterloo Road Has Talent contest, while Grantly is disappointed to discover no one has planned to celebrate his 25th anniversary as a teacher. Classroom drama, starring Tom Chambers and Eva Pope

Rachel's determined to put last term behind her but an incident with a young pupil makes her realise it's not enough to just educate the kids; the school needs to attend to their emotional health too.

Rachel finds herself in danger when one of the students is abducted by their estranged father.

Ruby struggles with her personal problems but refuses to take medication to help her cope. To make matters worse, she must take the Year 10 class on a trip to a farm, where Josh suffers a serious accident, and she finally confesses to Rachel how her worries are affecting her work. Elsewhere, Chris and Kim's mentoring scheme causes trouble for everyone. Starring Elizabeth Berrington and Eva Pope

An overweight pupil causes problems with his bad attitude, while Kim and Chris argue over Michaela when he refuses to accept her on his advanced university preparation scheme. Ruby feels snubbed when Rachel hires a new chef to lead the school's healthy eating campaign - and the successful applicant turns out to be a welcome face from the headteacher's past. Drama, starring Angela Griffin, William Ash and Eva Pope, with Steven Waddingham

Lauren's birthmark is revealed to the whole school, so she takes drastic action to get rid of it, and Ruby wins a few Brownie points with Rachel by organising a clothes-swapping event - only to abuse her trust by stealing some of the best goods to sell for herself online. Adam makes changes at the canteen, much to the annoyance of Rose, and Grantly feigns depression in a bid to get out of supervising a school trip. With a guest appearance by one-time Brookside star John McArdle

Chris is pushed to breaking point when he ends up with Finn as a teaching assistant on work experience day. Meanwhile, Rachel is not impressed with Adam when she learns he has been to a gig with the sixth formers, and Sam and Bolton become closer when they end up in trouble. Drama, starring Jack McMullen and William Ash

New boy Finn's disruptive behaviour continues at Waterloo Road and he persuades Josh and Amy to join him in smoking a legal high. For Amy, it's a far-from-pleasant experience and Josh has further side-effects when he starts hallucinating in class. Tom, worried about his son's behaviour, questions Josh who "fesses" up – believing that his dad would be cool about it as they are more like friends than father and son. However, Josh is stunned and humiliated by Tom's angry reaction and, in retaliation, he spikes Tom's lunch with the drug.

Jo learns Ros, one of her brightest students, has developed a crush on her, and informs Rachel about it. However, when the pupil publicly retaliates, Rachel is forced to suspend her colleague. Elsewhere, Adam is allowed to set up a new takeaway scheme to promote healthy eating, but has to pick up the pieces when Ruby is evicted from her place by Steph. Drama, starring Sarah Jane Potts

A trip to an art gallery takes Kim to the edge when the pupils deface a valuable painting and she is rushed to hospital suffering from what she thinks are practice contractions. Elsewhere, Philip's efforts to inspire Ros end up in a row about sexism and Steph's relationship with Ollie hits the rocks. Drama, starring Angela Griffin

Amy and Finn are kept apart following the ill-fated trip to the art gallery, causing Amy to play up in Ruby's class. The teacher's emotional state finally catches up with her when Rachel and Adam announce their engagement, and she locks herself in her office, only for the truth about her drug addiction to come out

Amy's relationship with Finn takes a terrifying turn when he suggests a radical proposal to ensure they stay together. Meanwhile, as Rachel and Adam prepare to walk down the aisle, trouble at the school puts the bride's attendance at the ceremony in jeopardy. Starring Jack McMullen and Eva Pope. Last in the series

New headmistress Karen Fisher sets out to revolutionise the school but faces tough challenges, beginning with two home-schooled pupils who are struggling to adapt to the mainstream education system. Elsewhere, Chris discovers that the girl he slept with is one of his pupils - and Karen's daughter. Starring Amanda Burton, William Ash, Linzey Cocker and Wil Johnson

Karen's husband Charlie joins the team as a supply teacher, but finds himself in hot water when his son Harry discovers a suspicious text message on his phone. Ruby talks to John about their parenting options after learning about her infertility, and a jealous Jess sabotages Chris's friendship with the head teacher by publishing a scathing article in the school magazine. Drama, starring Ian Puleston-Davies and Linzey Cocker

A new sexual health initiative causes uproar among parents, pupils and staff. Ronan and his girlfriend Sarah argue over whether she should take the morning-after pill, Jess and Vicki fall out, and Lauren shifts her romantic attention to Josh. Elsewhere, Charlie confesses his affair to Karen and hopes she will give their marriage another chance. Drama, starring Ian Puleston Davies and Amanda Burton

Josh vents his own frustrations on a new gay student, and gets involved in a fight with Finn following the spread of malicious gossip around the school. A celebration at the Fisher household divides the family as Charlie reveals his true feelings, and Vicki blackmails Chris to improve her grades. Drama, starring William Rush, Jack McMullen and Amanda Burton

Marcus interferes in Ronan's private life after catching him selling DVDs at school, but his well-meant efforts only complicate things further for the boy and his father. Tom is worried that Josh cannot defend himself when he sees Finn picking on him and urges him to take up self-defence lessons, while Ruby and Janeece call a truce. Drama, starring Wil Johnson and Ben-Ryan Davies

Francesca's honest approach in her drugs-awareness class backfires when Sam asks her for money to buy some, but the pupil's dealings leave her facing exclusion from the school. Harry's suffering increases, but he strikes up a friendship with Ruth, who encourages him to fight back against his tormentor, while Grantly's personal problems come to the surface and Ruby wonders what has gone wrong with her marriage. Drama, starring Karen David and Holly Kenny

Harry’s bulimia condition gets worse with the stress of being bullying and his parent’s separation. The tension Jneece and Ruby increases. The school stages the Interschool Debating Contest.

Vicki cannot balance living in a hostel and visiting her sick father at hospital with her schoolwork, and resorts to blackmailing Chris to improve her grades. Grantly struggles to cope with his wife's illness but refuses to take her into care, and Janeece has doubts about her decision to give her baby to Ruby and John. Drama, starring Rebecca Ryan, William Ash and Philip Martin Brown

Chris's plan to install CCTV in the school backfires when Jonah discovers compromising footage. Ruby gets in touch with Steph to see if she can persuade Grantly to sort out his domestic problems, and Janeece takes drastic action when Ruby refuses to give her back baby Poppy. Drama, starring William Ash and Lucien Laviscount

Grantly's home life unravels when he finally puts Fleur in a home, but he has to take drastic measures when he learns the economic cost of care. His situation at school also reaches breaking point as Ruth discovers that he has been teaching the wrong syllabus to his A-level class. Elsewhere, a mysterious figure appears in the school and begins to spy on Karen. Drama, starring Philip Martin Brown and Anna Jobarteh

In response to the boys' poor exam grades, Karen and Chris introduce a new single sex teaching initiative, much to the disdain of staff and pupils. Especially unimpressed is the formidable new Head of Pastoral Care, Adanna Lawal, who rallies the rest of the staffroom into action against the segregation.

However, the scheme gets off to a bad start as the boys’ lessons quickly descend into chaos, a situation that is made even worse by the arrival of disruptive new student Kyle Stack, who wreaks havoc the moment he steps in the door.

Elsewhere, Bex Fisher’s first day back at Waterloo Road gets off to a rocky start when she is beset with anxiety following an unexpected phone call - leading Jess to suspect her sister is hiding something. Finally arriving at school, Bex becomes embroiled in an allegation of sexual assault involving Kyle, leaving Karen and her staff in a muddled attempt to unravel the truth before Kyle exacts a vicious revenge.

Year ten pupil Billie Taylor is convinced that her own mother is trying to steal her newborn daughter from her, so Janeece offers to help.

The staff are shocked by Grantly's dishevelled appearance, and decide he needs more assistance at home. Cesca begins tutoring Jonah in one-on-one Spanish lessons.

Nate and Josh's burgeoning romance hits a rough spot when Nate's homophobic dad finds out about their relationship, and Tom is forced to bear the brunt of his anger. Elsewhere, Hodge continues to hound Bex and Karen tries to discover what her oldest daughter is hiding. Cesca continues to blur the professional and personal boundaries between her and Jonah.

When Ruby witnesses Martin Dowling and Kyle Stack taunting new Polish caretaker Lukas Wisniewski about his right to work in the country, she controversially takes the side of the pupils. Keen to clamp down on this behaviour, Chris discovers that the normally intelligent Martin is emulating his father's right-ring views to gain approval. Lukas is pushed to the brink when Martin and Kyle step up their hate campaign, leaving Ruby condemned by the school and questioning her own views.

Meanwhile, Ronan's scheme to sell exam papers to the other pupils looks set to be a success, especially since Janeece can't prove that he has stolen the original copy from her office. However, Janeece proves to be more resourceful than first thought and hatches a clever plan to thwart him.

Elsewhere, Cesca's relationship with Jonah spirals further out of control as she desperately uses Tom as a decoy to cover up her feelings. And Bex's attempt to forget about her problems with a shopping trip is short-lived when an ever-determined Hodge arrives on the scene, leading to a dramatic showdown.

Harry's cry for attention veers out of control when he steals Karen's mobile phone and uses it to send the staff incendiary emails. Karen and Chris have their hands full with the boy-only business initiative, especially when Sambuca Kelly returns to Waterloo Road and leads the girls in gate-crashing the event. Elsewhere, Tom struggles to readjust during his first day back.

As Jonah suggests to Cesca that they go public as a couple Hodge continues dating Jess,under the name of Ewan. Then pupil Wayne Bodley discovers a shot of Bex on a porn site and it soon comes to Karen's attention. Bex explains to her mother that she met and lived with an older man who filmed their sex life but she now wants to put him behind her.However Bex sees Hodge with Jess and confronts him. He says that he has a sex disc of Jess as well,which he will publish unless Bex goes back with him and so she agrees.

Finn and Ronan organize a rave at an abandoned mill,where they closer to Sambucca and Vicki. However interlopers,headed by gang-leader Gav,gate-crash and it is down to the newly-reinstated Tom,whom Kyle has phoned in the hopes that he will spoil the rave for Finn,to save the day. Jonah gets drunk and almost discloses his affair with Cesca,to her horror,whilst Bex goes off with Hodge to spare Jess. However Jess has alerted her mother,who follows with Chris and Hodge is ultimately arrested.

The school holds a fashion show and Ronan brings in Dan Hargrove,owner of a modelling agency,to give confidence to would-be model Vicki,now his girlfriend. Adanna once dated Dan and was dumped by him,so she regards him as a creep and,when he takes Vicki for an innocent lunch,accuses him of unprofessional conduct. This causes trouble with Ronan but,after Vicki has explained that nothing untoward happened,Adanna has to apologize to Dan. Cesca,finding herself pregnant by Jonah,goes to a clinic for a termination but changes her mind after he his impassioned phone call. ...

Cesca hands in her resignation to Karen. Adanna reveals her latest plan to unite the sexes at the school. Denzil takes part in a life-threatening stunt. Ruby and Grantly's writing partnership is under threat from creative differences.

The day of the Waterloo Road pantomime has finally arrived, but when Finn gets Kyle purposefully kicked off the cast, Sam begins to doubt their relationship - he is not the boy she thought he was. Meanwhile, Denzil learns his lesson when his latest stunt ends in tragedy.

Elsewhere, Jonah sneaks out of school to meet Cesca and they rush to Gretna Green, but will the police catch the couple before they reach the church?