S05E01: The students deal with the merger

It's all change at the school as it has merged with local private school John Fosters, which was forced to close when wealthy parents could no longer afford the fees.

As a result, around 100 new pupils are enrolled at Waterloo Road and neither the "posh" John Fosters pupils nor the "scuzzy" Waterloo Road kids are happy about it.

The playground divisions are echoed in the staffroom as many of the old John Fosters team have been ushered in to ensure the smooth transition, much to the annoyance of the existing staff.

Among them are Christopher Mead, an ex-city-boy-turned-science teacher and now the deputy head; Ruby Fry, the food technology teacher who is every bit as snobby as her pupils; and a new head of languages, Jo Lipsett, whose enthusiasm and competence spells trouble for the hapless Steph.

The biggest rivalry, however, seems to be between Rachel Mason and executive head Max Tyler, played by Tom Chambers.

A fight between Michaela White and new girl Lindsay James disrupts lessons as the series begins. The tensions soon engulf the whole school, with both sets of pupils waging war in the playground. Rachel manages to calm the situation but she has some devastating news for Lindsay and her little sister, Em. Their father is dead and their mother, Marion, has confessed to his murder.

Max then drops his own bombshell: after today's events there is no way he is leaving Rachel in charge and he informs her that he intends to be permanently based at the school.

Let battle commence!