Head Teacher Mr Mitchell is on a mission to revolutionise the school's ethos, results and reputation. But every day his vision is challenged by the trickiest adversaries: teenagers.
When a queen bee and a quieter student clash, head teacher Mr Mitchell faces difficult decisions about who needs to be dealt with and how.
Tom is approaching his final year at Thornhill while Robbie-Joe is starting out. They're both bursting with energy and charm, but neither of them is particularly interested in learning.
Hadiqa and Safiyyah are unlikely best friends. Safiyyah dreams of becoming a flight attendant while Hadiqa wants to be prime minister. But as exams approach, a crisis looms in their friendship.
Everything changes in Year 9. It's full of hormonal 13-year-olds and is a critical academic turning point as the students choose their GCSE options.
Exams are approaching at Thornhill and it's not just the students who are feeling the pressure. From deputy head Mr Steer to new teachers, everyone's feeling the demands of the targets.
Jack loves history but is disruptive, and the school staff are worried that he may become Mr Mitchell's first ever permanent exclusion. Can Jack and his teachers turn around his behaviour?
It's the final months of school and the Year 11 students are preparing for life beyond Thornhill. Mr Burton will use any tactic - no matter how unusual - to help Musharaf overcome his severe stammer.
It's the first term back at Thornhill and Amy must navigate school life with a recent diagnosis of Tourette's. And Riley in Year 8 is being disruptive. But why?
The pressure of secondary school starts to get real for Year 10 Casey, who is dyslexic, a condition that has left her feeling insecure, self-conscious and different. Staff discuss how AI is affecting the school more widely and how they must adapt to this ever-changing, very modern challenge, and a primary teacher is hired to help students with low literacy.
A year 10 student who plays for a youth rugby team harbours dreams of international professional stardom, but his ambitions are in jeopardy when Mr Burton threatens to call the head coach if his attitude doesn't improve. One of his classmates struggles with anxiety, especially when she falls out with a friend and faces being dropped down a set after a low score in a science test.
Year seven's Ismaeel, an enthusiastic ball of energy with his sights set on becoming a student representative for his year, canvasses classmates in the school playground, taking his list to school head Mr Burton who agrees to his real passion project - launching a brand-new chess club. Specialist teacher Mrs Burton is determined to help Lewis in year nine, a star student who was diagnosed with autism at the age of eight, come up with inventive ways to build his confidence - including the new chess club. Assistant Head Mrs Delaney-Hudson is determined not to give up on bright and charming year eight student Jacob who struggles to stay put in lessons.
GCSEs are edging closer, and students Skyler, Olivia and Falak are feeling the pressure. While Maths teacher Mrs Delaney-Hudson is determined to see her pupils succeed, headteacher Mr Burton leads a crackdown on mobile phone use. Year 11 student and prefect Falak is struggling with anxiety as the pressure to achieve high grades starts to feel overwhelming. Plus, a special guest returns to the school.