Following the closure of a local private school there is an influx of new pupils at Waterloo Road which leads to clashes in the playground. Rachel finds herself clashing with new executive head, Max Tyler.

The new pupils continue to clash with the old pupils at the school. Bolton is accused by Amy of attempted rape and he is questioned by Kim. Paul ends up being the only person who ends up believing Bolton is innocent. Steph receives a bad appraisal. Kim agrees to go out to dinner with Max.

Danielle and Aleesha show up to school the Rose for wear after a night out drinking. Paul steals some ethanol so that Danielle can have some \'hair of the dog\'. Steph finds the going tough working under Jo. To stop her lesson assessment from being spoilt, Steph hides a drunk Danielle in the stock cupboard. Paul and Bolton decide sell the ethanol to the other pupils but they are found out by Max. When Danielle\'s condition gets worse, Steph is forced to take her to the hospital. Kim and Max try to keep their relationship a secret.

Luke Pendle\'s home life is exposed which causes him to snap and feel the force of Max\'s fury. Steph dips out of her teaching course claiming she is feeling unwell. Kim attempts to organise the Waterloo Road Garden Project. Rose tries to help Tom with Josh. Rachel continues to try and help Lindsay. The friction between the girls from the two former schools continues to grow.

The school has an open day and both Max and Rachel are determined to show the school as a united one. Ruby changes the menu and puts the things she has purchased on her husband\'s credit card. When Ruby returns home she finds the bailiffs there and her husband is forced to admit to her that his company has gone bankrupt. Ruby ends up having a breakdown in front of the pupils and an LEA representative. Max is determined to make sure his affair with Kim remains a secret. Rachel catches them together and admits she has known they are seeing one another for quite a while. Rachel is worried that Max is using the open day to make her look bad in front of the school\'s governors. Rachel is shocked when she finds out that Max has a wife.

Christopher is worried when one of his best students Vicki begins acting strangely. When he discovers she has been skipping school to work as an exotic dancer he follows her to the club she works. He inadvertently puts his career as a teacher in danger after Vicki issues a threat to him if he tells anyone about what she is up to. Lindsay learns that wont be able to see her mother until the trial is over. Lindsay ends up admitting to Rachel that she had told her mother that her father had been abusing her on the day he was cuddled. Ros starts a comedy club at the school. Josh is pleased when his mother and Tom get along over dinner but sparks fly when Georgia reveals details about the way he was conceived. Rachel needs to find somebody new to confide in because of Kim\'s growing relationship with Max.

When Amy, Siobhan and Michaela are accused of bullying Cassie, it seems the gang problem has returned to the school. Even though the girls say they have done nothing wrong they are sent to the cooler by Kim. After Cassie acts strangely she is taken to the hospital where the doctors believe she has some sort of disorder. Helen\'s flat is wrecked after some teens discover where she lives. Helen turns to Tom for help and she then considers her future at the school. Max is furious after Rachel tells Kim about his wife.

Helen pays Amy to make sure the class behave whilst she is being assessed. When Helen refuses to give her anymore more money Amy tells Rachel what has been going on. When there are rumours about Max\'s relationship with Helen he becomes determined to get rid off her. Helen decides to quit and leaves a compromising video with her and Max on for Rachel to see. Chris is shocked when he finds out that Max has being actly threateningly towards Rachel. Lindsay decides not to be part of the girl gang anymore. Rachel is shocked when she watches the video. Max tells Kim he is getting a divorce and convinces her to give their relationship another go.

Rachel goes with Lindsay to her mother trial\'s but things don\'t look good. Lindsay admits the truth to Rachel about what really happened the day her father died. After Max hears Steph warning Kim away from him he decides to try and get her fired from the school. Jo ends up backing Steph. When Phillip refuses to help Max they clash and Phillip ends up getting hurt. Rose decides to finish things with Tom. After Rachel returns to the school she gives Steph her job back and an out of control Max trashes her desk.

The governors arrive at the school to see how the merger is going. Max decides to use the day to try and persuade them to fire Rachel. When Rachel realises she cant work with Max anymore she offers her resignation.A talent contest is held at the school to celebrate the end of term. Grantly is upset that nobody has realises he has been teaching at the school for 25 years. Phillip is warned by Max to keep quiet about what happened. Kim is shocked when Phillip admits the truth to her.

Rachel is determined to start the new term on a positive note but an incident with a young pupil makes her realise it\'s not enough to just educate the the pupils. When one of the pupils is snatched by her estranged father Rachel finds herself in danger.

Ruby is is reluctant to take anti-depressants as her problems continue. When she takes some pupils to a local farm things don\'t go to plan. The farm is run by pupil Craig\'s brother and is in deep financial trouble. Mark had asked Craig to cancel the trip but he hopes that Ruby will convince Mark to sell the farm before it is too late. Josh gets sprayed in the face with some dangerous chemicals when things get out of hand after alcohol is drunk by some of the pupils. Ruby is able to bring back the brothers closer again and they decide to do what is best for both of them in the future. Ruby ends up being forced to share her problems with Rachel. Chris and Kim\'s peer mentoring scheme causes all kinds of problems. Chris offers to go with Kim to her ultrasound on the baby.

Coming soon...Kim clashes with Chris when he introduces an Advanced University Preparation scheme for Ros. Kim thinks that everyone should be able to take part in the scheme. After Michaela stages a protest wanting to be allowed on the scheme, Rachel ends up opening it up to everyone. A new chef is employed by Rachel to double up as Waterloo Road\'s healthy school coordinator leaving Ruby feeling put out.

Tom plans a party for Josh\'s birthday. When the whole school learns about Lauren\'s large birthmark on her back she steals hydrogen peroxide from the science lab to try to bleach it away. Rachel isn\'t happy when Ruby uses a clothes swap scheme at the school for her own advantage. Rose isn\'t happy with the ideas Adam is planning on introducing. Steph makes a connection with Oliver.

Chris finds himself being pushed to breaking point by Finn. When Sam and Bolton end up in trouble they grow closer.

Finn continues to cause problems as he persuades Josh and Amy to join him in smoking a legal. Tom is furious when he finds out the truth about Josh hallucinates in class. A humiliated Josh ends up spiking his father\'s drink with the drug. When Tom drives Kim to the hospital he ends up being involved in an accident and is left fighting for his life.

One of Jo\'s pupils develops a crush on her and she is shocked when she kisses her. Jo tells Rachel what happened and Ros declares to Jo that she loves her. Ros formally accuses Jo of acting inappropriately when she tells her the feelings are reciprocated. Rachel finds herself forced to suspend Jo who questions her future at the school. Steph wants Ruby to move out after there is tension between them. Adam attempts to help Ruby stop taking the pills she is becoming addicted to. After clashing with Adam, Rachel makes an important decision about her future.

Kim and Chris find their professional and personal relationship comes under pressure when they take Year 10 on a trip to an art gallery. Kim is jealous when Chris\'s girlfriend shows up and suffers from what she thinks are Braxton Hicks contractions and ends up collapsing in pain. After Cris rushes her to the hospital she has to undergo an emergency Caesarean section. When Adam offers to help Ruby move into her new flat her crush on him grows.

Ruby\'s husband John announces he wants a divorce and things don\'t improve at work when Rachel adds to her workload by putting her in charge of organising the school prom. Ruby is upset when Adam announces that he is marrying Rachel and she ends up trashing the wedding cake he has made. Rachel ends up discovering the truth about Ruby\'s dependency on pills. Sam and Bolton ask different people to the prom in an effort to prove they don\'t like one another.

After Finn proposes to Amy that they make the ultimate sacrifice to stay together their relationship takes a terrifying turn. Rachel and Adam\'s wedding day arrives.