Fresh out of college, Christina (Claudia Karvan) lands her first teaching job at a high school located in a tough part of Melbourne. Feeling enthusiastic about the challenge, Christina wins over the students by rallying them to start a school soccer team. Meanwhile, as she grows dissatisfied with her finance-obsessed fiancé (Steve Bastoni), she becomes involved in a controversial romance with her charming student Nick (Alex Dimitriades), despite the protests of her family and coworkers. The Movie was spun off to the series a year later.
Christina Milano, Hartley High's young new English and history teacher, has difficulties gaining control of her first class until a brawl in the schoolyard gives her the opportunity to win the respect of her students. New student Jodie Cooper catches the eye of Nick Poulos.
The banning of Jodie's incendiary rap song sparks a freedom-of-speech revolt among the students. Nick, Rose and Jodie lead their fellow students in a strike and Deloraine counters with the threat of suspensions for all those involved. The dispute is amicably settled with everyone getting their demands met — except for Con who doesn't get the soccer team he wanted, he does however get Danielle and Steve back together in time for Valentine's Day.
Christina gets approval for a school soccer team by volunteering to be its coach. Con borrows an amplifier from his uncle to allow Jodie to make a demo tape of her songs. Danielle creates some controversy when she asks to try out for the new soccer team. Rumours about Nick and Jodie's relationship make their way through the school.
Nick spends the night with Jodie, causing his parents to worry about his absence. Southgate helps Rivers deal with the cops when they want to question him about a stolen car. Chaka worries about her presence in the stolen vehicle being revealed to the police.
After leaving home following an argument with his father, Nick moves in with Jodie and begins looking for a job so that he can drop out of school. A record company executive takes an interest in Jodie and offers her a job with a rock band in Melbourne. Christina reproaches Marco for his constant unannounced and inconsiderate drop-ins, reminding him that she lives with Yola, not him.
The burden of her family responsibilities cause Chaka to behave erratically at school but attract the attention of her friends who rally to support her. Marco presses Christina to set a wedding date.
Low morale threatens to destroy the school's poorly performing soccer team until Christina seeks help from George, a former professional player, who is reluctant to become involved. Hartley's new debating team, composed of Rose, Con, and Chaka, debate another school on the merits of Australia becoming a republic.
George, Nick, and Effie are devastated by Ireni's sudden and tragic death. Steve's disclosure to Nick of information regarding his mother's car accident leads Nick down a path that ends with him assaulting a police officer.
Con tries to get new uniforms for the soccer team in time for their last match while his mother arranges for a woman to help out at the Poulos' home. Steve is forced to miss rugby training to sit an exam, a decision that upsets Southgate and threatens Steve's spot on the team.
Nick hits Jodie after she confesses to a romantic fling in Melbourne. Christina's future with Marco is thrown into doubt when he announces a promotion that will take him to Perth. A new drama teacher arrives at Hartley and quickly attracts the attentions of his female students.
Phil confides a secret about his past to Rose, who has a crush on him. Stella quits as the Poulos's housekeeper after getting in an argument with George in which he questions her decision to leave her failed marriage. Steve and Rivers are forced to work together when they are given the task of cleaning up the school yard when Deloraine catches them fighting.
Yola's attempt to advise a pregnant Nicole causes a professional crisis when the girl's condition is revealed. Rose spots Christina and Phil cavorting on the beach. On their first date, Rivers takes Chaka to an expensive restaurant.
After learning about Phil's past relationship with a student, Christina decides they can have no future together and Phil makes the decision to resign. Jodie rallies her fellow students to save the school's music programme. Nick's father invites Jodie to stay at the Poulos home while her rowdy sister is in town.
Verbal and physical harassment over a misconstrued encounter with a young student causes Graham to have doubts about continuing to teach at Hartley. Chaka's father speaks to the students about oppression and violence. Chaka makes the difficult decision about whether to remain at Hartley or move north to Darwin with her family.
Their friends try to get Rose and Jack together for the school dance. Yola and Southgate are locked in a storage cupboard. Con arranges for Jodie to perform at the dance.
Stella's daughter Katerina shows up unexpectedly and starts making life uncomfortable for both Nick and her mother. Rose's father forbids her to continue dating Jack.
Southgate decides to resign after he reacts violently during a confrontation with Katerina. Yola's involvement with a married man bothers Christina. Con heads up the effort to make a video clip for Jodie's latest song.
The head gardener at the nursery where Nick and Danielle are participating in a work experience programme has a heart attack. Con arranges for Jodie and himself to work at a recording studio and lands her a job singing jingles. A lack of attention from their respective partners helps to bring Nick and Dani together.
While trying to earn some extra money, Rivers unknowingly buys some stolen car parts through Con, then refuses to name his supplier when the police charge him.
While serving as acting principal, Southgate institutes a series of strict policy changes as a means of preventing the possible closing of the school. Steve learns of Nick and Danielle's blossoming relationship while on a school trip and lands in hospital after a scuffle with Nick.
A phantom blader plays a cat-and-mouse game with Southgate after the acting principal bans inline skating at Hartley; tensions are palpable among members of the gang. Jack's grades earn him an invitation to attend a selective highschool.
After Rose announces that she is pregnant, she moves in at the Poulos's until her father, who does not want her to keep the baby, allows her to come back home. Stella teaches George to dance when he agrees to accompany her to a party. Jodie's producer tries to move Con out of the way as he makes his move on her.
Con pressures Jodie into entering a televised rising stars "StarQuest" contest but then must come up with a new act when she refuses to perform. A bet with Steve drives Rivers to break in to the school to steal an exam. Danielle applies for a job at a gym hoping to please Nick.
Nick's election as class captain puts him in direct conflict with Southgate when he is made to come down on his friends for violations of school policies. Con discovers that the new woman in his life has a child. Sides form up when the issue of installing condom machines in the school bathrooms is raised.
Danielle's first foray into modelling goes awry when the photographer manipulates her into posing nude. Con's relationship with Greta comes to an end.
Hurt by his parents' divorce and their apparent disregard for him, Steve decides to move out and get an apartment with Rivers and Jodie. Christina makes a decision about Mack's invitation to join him in working overseas.
Steve, angry after learning that he was adopted, is caught stealing from his employer and the police are called. Danielle and Jodie fight over Nick. George quits his job at the factory.
Steve wants to keep a stray dog that he befriends but Deloraine and Rivers have other ideas. Stella invites Katerina to go with her to Greece.
George is hurt by Nick and Effie's less than enthusiastic reaction to his announcement about an impending move. New teacher Sam Robinson arrives at Hartley High to fill a staffing vacancy created by Christina's departure. Effie runs away from home and winds up wandering the streets in King's Cross.
A wealthy girl hires Helen to cater a dinner party for her parents. George lends the Bordinos the money Roberto needs for his business. Deloraine suspends Rivers when he sees him harassing Sam.
Roberto and Helen are upset when Rocco, their eldest son, returns to town without contacting them. Lucy offers to help Steve find his birth parents. Southgate agrees to help Nick with his boxing training. Sam tries to get Rivers back in school.
Lucy encourages Steve to continue searching for his birth mother even though contact is prohibited by law. Rivers' father convinces him to return to school. Effie contemplates dating an unpopular classmate. Nick accepts a rematch against Tony.
Rose's pregnancy complicates Hartley's plans to host the prestigious Education Awards. Con confronts his father when he lends Rocco money to help get the Shark Pool up and running rather than paying for the audio engineering programme Con is interested in.
Steve discovers that the person who has been following him is his birth mother. Rocco offers Con a job at the pool hall but then hires Jodie. Rivers' pursuit of Sam continues as he takes it upon himself to fix her motorcycle.
Con is discovered to have drugs in his possession when the police raid a party at the warehouse. Rivers' relationship with Sam moves into dangerous territory. Nick makes his amateur boxing debut against Tony at the Shark Pool and wins by knockout. Con's friends try to prove his innocence.
Sam and Rivers continue their affair despite warnings from Yola and must eventually pay the price when their romance is made public. Nick agrees to let Leo Fine manage him as a professional boxer but he loses Jody when she calls an end to their relationship. Sam is forced to leave her job at Hartley.
Nick refuses to believe that his relationship with Jodie is over. Deloraine's office is trashed and Rivers is quickly picked as the likely suspect. Rose gives birth to her daughter in dramatic fashion at school. Rocco gets Jodie a job singing backup for a band that is about to set off on an
Nick sets out to win Jodie back before she leaves for the States. To no avail, Roberto tries to get Nick to drop out of his forthcoming professional bout. After his talk with Yola, Rose's father agrees to let Jack be involved in his daughter's life.
The start of the new school term is marred by the aftermath of Nick's death [from a brain haemorrhage which occurred coincidentally with his appearance in the boxing ring]. Vic Morris, a teacher brought in to teach a new Media Studies course, gets everyone to participate in a special video project. A new student with a familial link to Deloraine arrives at Hartley. Nick's little sister, Effie, begins attending classes at Hartley. New arrival Matt is uncomfortable about having to interview his classmates.
After a thrashing from Rivers' team in a pick up game, the guys decide it's time to improve the school basketball team. They set out to convince a reluctant Vic to be their coach but convincing Rivers to join the team isn't quite as hard. Matt's friends have questions for him — and demands — after Southgate reveals he is Deloraine's nephew. Danielle arranges for Rose and Jack to have an evening to themselves and gets Lucy, Con, and Steve to help babysit Tess. Con is recruited into Danielle and Lucy's plan to seduce Steve.
Vic tries to teach the boys a lesson in teamwork by having them play the girls team but after an embarrassing loss, the guys decide it may be time to quit basketball altogether. Con's grandmother comes to live with the Bordino family but she soon finds a new home she likes better. Steve and Lucy consummate their relationship.
Rivers, Con and Matt are stopped by the police prompting them to create a controversial one-sided documentary that threatens the continuation of Vic's Media Studies course. Steve's discovery that Lucy is on the pill leads them both to look into their previous partners' lives. Rivers insists on babysitting Tess after Jack shows him how being seen with a baby can help attract women.
Matt and the rest of the basketball team face a tough opponent in the championship game. Vic is approached at the school by a man from his past. Danielle interviews Vic for her class project, twice. Rose discovers that Jack has a new girlfriend. Vic decides to leave Hartley.
Matt sets up his uncle on a blind date and makes plans to move out. Discouraged by her recent grades, Danielle contemplates dropping out of school when she is asked to audition as a reporter for a youth oriented current affairs tv show. Yola questions Joe's commitment to their relationship when he starts spending time with an old girlfriend and her son. Con and Rose get closer while working on a science project together while Southgate and Danielle's mother begin seeing one another.
Southgate's divorce is finalised. Nicole tries to get her parents back together not knowing that her mother is already seeing Southgate. The gang plans a surprise party for Rivers' 18th birthday but his friends' odd behaviour has him convinced they're getting ready to kick him out of the warehouse. To make matters worse, his car gets stolen. Con enters Tess in a baby photo contest without telling Rose.
Nicole reveals her mother's affair with Southgate to the school. After getting a taste of life at the warehouse, Matt makes the decision to move back in with his uncle. Suzie ends her relationship with Bill to give her marriage another chance. Con and Rose go out on a date. Rivers is busted spying on the girls. Still haunted by Nick's death, Jodie is unable to commit to Matt.
Lucy reluctantly seeks help from her friends when Jerry Shapiro, her mother's boyfriend, begins making sexual advances towards her. Yola learns that she is pregnant. Con's protective instincts emerge as Effie prepares for a school dance.
Rose's daughter is rushed to the hospital. Seeing Tess brought to the hospital causes Yola to panic about her own future as a mother. Jealousies surface when Jodie's sister is welcomed at the warehouse and makes a play for Matt. Jack proposes to Rose. Southgate must inform Yola of Joe's death after he is killed in the line of duty.
Rose agrees to marry Jack but matters are quickly complicated by a second proposal, this one from Con. Con's parents decide the best way to discourage their son is to encourage him. Jodie argues with her half-sister Karen over her involvement with Matt. Karen poses as Jodie when she goes to see a music promoter.
Rivers' father surfaces at the warehouse after escaping from prison. Jodie tells Karen it is time for her to move out of the warehouse, and after a brief but eventful stay at the Bordinos', Karen moves on. A difficult decision about Rivers' future is taken out of his hands.
When the surf boat Southgate has employed for his Surf Club recruitment efforts is vandalised and then stolen from the school yard, Matt and Rivers quickly become the prime suspects. Steve grows up in a hurry when Lucy informs him that she will going on a six-month student exchange to Japan.
Yola fears she may lose her baby. Southgate announces that he is moving on to become the new headmaster at a rural school. He then convinces Yola, who has mentioned a desire to start a new life for herself and her baby, to come with him. Deloraine takes an interest in Matt's love life. Steve and Danielle recruit their friends to help make a horror movie.
Sam Robinson makes an unexpected return to Hartley High as a substitute teacher. Sam insists she's back to focus on her career and that anything she had with Rivers in the past is over. Deloraine wants to believe the former is true while Rivers hopes the latter is not. When Con skips classes to looks after his business interests, Roberto volunteers to help Con run the Shark Pool but he alienates the customers when he raises the prices. Effie does not know how to respond to Bart's request for a kiss.
Back from Greece, Katerina turns up at the warehouse and attempts to blackmail Peter into starting a relationship with her by using her newfound knowledge of his affair with Sam. With Sam's job once again threatened, Peter comes up with a solution that is simple but cruel. If only because Matt doesn't want her to, Jodie agrees to be Steve's model for a school photography project. Effie and Bart's relationship hits a snag.
When Steve pays his mother an unexpected visit, he discovers that he has a half-sister. Matt borrows Peter's car to go to the beach but the car is stolen when Allie has to be taken to the hospital after a surfing accident. Katerina tries to get the better of Sam both in classroom and during a self-defence course.
Andrew Bell, Harley High's new science teacher, pushes his students to perform in the HSC trials. Rivers agrees to teach Allie to drive in exchange for her tutoring services. Deloraine offers Matt incentives to do well on his exams. Sam cautions Andrew about his high expectations for the Hartley students. After pouring all her time into studying, Danielle exhausts herself both physically and emotionally. After walking out in the middle of her exam, Danielle is struck by a car.
Allie starts attending Hartley High without her parents' knowledge or Steve's approval. Rivers accepts his classmates' challenge to direct the school's production of an updated "Romeo and Juliet." While on a raucous school excursion to the beach, Steve looses a pocketwatch that used to belong to his maternal great-grandfather and Mr. Bell is quick to accuse Steve's friends of the theft.
Roberto attempts to keep a health scare from Con and Effie. The school's production of "Romeo and Juliet" is threatened by Katerina's withdrawal from her lead role and Rivers' untimely detention by Mr. Bell. News of Roberto's condition draws Con closer to his father.
A school science project leads Matt into a campaign to prove that a local factory is illegally dumping toxic chemicals, but his dedication threatens his relationship with Jodie. Andrew moves into Sam's apartment. Matt finds an unlikely ally in his efforts.
Rivers is faced with a difficult decision when his father, still on the run after escaping from prison, comes back to town. Steve and Danielle get back together after working on his photography exhibit. As Matt and Jodie are breaking up, Con and Katrina begin a relationship.
Jodie's infatuation with singer/songerwriter Tim Beckett is shaken when the self-confessed alcoholic starts drinking again. Katerina convinces Deloraine to let her sell healthier food to the students but her upstart effort is challenged by competition from Con's hot dog stand. Andrew confronts Sam about her past affair with Peter and confesses his own jealousy. Allie feels like she's being shut out by her friends because of her involvement with Matt.
Tim gets Jodie a record deal but Con is left on the outside looking in when the company assigns her a new manager. Katerina pushes herself in preparation for her audition for a national dance company. Steve gets an opportunity to work at a local newspaper but his first assignment goes badly forcing his editor to use his damning pictures of Tim as part of a story on the fallen singer. As his friends fill out their university forms, Matt contemplates what he wants to do with his life. Rivers tries using Katerina to make Sam jealous.
A state-wide teachers strike, Con's parents leaving to attend a wedding, and Katerina's reluctance to be alone with Con all combine to provide the perfect opportunity for a pool party at the Bordino's. Rivers' attempt to liven up the party with a game of Truth or Dare results in hurt feelings, animosity, and conflicts among all those who participate. The gang hurries to clean up before Con's parents make their early return but only so much can be done to cover up the fact that your furniture has been in the pool!
Radio Hartley takes to the airwaves but when Con and Matt broadcast their signal over that of a commercial station to promote Jodie's struggling first single, Deloraine quickly pulls the plug on the fledgling operation. Katerina has difficulty telling Con how she feels about him. Andrew surprises Sam by first purchasing a motorcycle for himself and then proposing to her. Interest in Jodie's song increases as a result of the airplay and plans are made for her to go on a promotional tour. Allie is given the go ahead to move into the warehouse.
A decline in enrolment applications threatens to permanently close the doors of Hartley High unless the additional students can be found. Deloraine suffers a mild heart attack and is admitted to hospital. Meanwhile, Sam turns down Andrew's proposal and soon finds herself back with Peter and the two run away together. The kids launch a campaign to save school and just when it appears they have failed, Jodie returns and delivers a passionate speech that pushes the campaign over the top.
Matt's comfortable existence at Hartley High is threatened when his past comes back to haunt him. Paul - Matt's competitive, over-achieving father - wants his son to return home to his family and a more settled existence. Paul is convinced that Deloraine has let Matthew run wild - a belief that is confirmed when he sees Matt's less than impressive school results. Paul's worst fears about his son become reality when - angered by his father's domineering approach - Matt uncharacteristically lashes out on the basketball court, punching teacher, Andrew. It looks like Steve is also in trouble. Everyone needs him: Con needs photographs for the school magazine, Allie needs help with finding a new flatmate, and Danielle wants to go to the movies with him. But Steve is missing. Everyone is angry and puzzled: it's just not like Steve to go disappear without a word. Where is he? The answer will change Hartley High and its students forever.
When Steve's death is investigated for a Coronial Report, the question arises of how well his sister, Allie, and friends actually knew him. Allie is convinced his death was an accident - a terrible tragedy - but Danielle is not so sure. Their different points of view inevitably lead to conflict especially when Allie allows Matt to move into Steve's old room. They're not the only ones having difficulty coming to terms with Steve's death. Con just can't face putting together the school paper which is to be a tribute to Steve. But that's because he has a secret. It is only the intervention of new teacher, Ronnie Brooks, that helps bring the gang together again, and resolve their feelings of grief over Steve's death.
It looks like time is up for Athol Pike Hartley's maths teacher. When the senior students should be learning linear progression and binomial theorem, Athol is more intent on teaching them how to win on the third race at Hawkesbury. Led by Matt, the students campaign to have Athol thrown out. One student who does appreciate Athol's practical approach to punting-as-mathematics is Katerina. She has just dented Con's car and is anxious to get some cash in a hurry. With Bolton's help, Katerina embarks on a gambling career. For once, Bolton is a man in demand. Danielle also needs money, and she turns to him for help. Unbeknownst to Bolton, Danielle wants the money to feed a burgeoning drug habit.
Allie and Bolton try to save Danielle from the lure of the drug dealer, Bunka, but not before Ronnie discovers drugs in her locker. Matt's elusive behaviour is explained when he breaks a promise to Deloraine and takes Allie to his hospital bed. Together they urge Ms Dyson to keep Danielle at Hartley High. Meanwhile, Katerina tries to revamp her image for Con's impending return with a new hair colour.
Bolton can hardly contain his excitement. Not only is he about to break his own blade-skating speed record, but he and the gang are about to go on the excursion of the century until things go horribly wrong. Bolton collides with the Principal June "The Terminator" Dyson, knocking her to the ground. Dyson confiscates Bolton's blades and the situation escalates when Bolton gets banned from the excursion and the other kids protest. It's the students vs Dyson. Who will win? Con is revamping the Shark Pool. He has hired a new manager, Antonio and business is booming. However, his paradise soon disappears when Con discovers that "Ant" wants Katerina and the Shark Pool for himself.
A dream comes true for Con when he is accepted as a student exchange in America. However, this causes problems with Katerina who, after taking a gamble on the relationship in the first place, now feels betrayed. Will Con actually leave Hartley High and Katerina, or will she be able to convince him to stay? Ronnie and Andrew have their first disagreement over teaching methods when Andrew lends Allie a lap top to help her with her work. Some of the other kids view it as favouritism, including Matt who allows his feelings to put another dent in his and Allie's already fragile relationship.
With Declan's past haunting him he has a huge chip on his shoulder and proves to be a menacing presence in the school. Could it be that Declan's attitude is the consequence of his bad reputation or is he indeed a bad apple that can't be disciplined? When Bolton decides to challenge Declan in an attempt to mark his territory he is surprised, and somewhat relieved, to find that Declan isn't interested in fighting him. Instead, Declan stands up for him when the teachers accuse him of stealing. Unfortunately, Declan is about to find out that the teachers have good reason to suspect Bolton. Meanwhile, Katerina is more determined than ever to be a successful dancer and, after a difficult clash of wills, Ronnie helps her understand that to be a successful dancer, she has to find some discipline and commitment. When Matt and Allie enlist Roberto's help to train them for the annual school cross country both Roberto and Allie have something to prove - Allie needs to show Matt and Roberto t
Her name is Stassy and she is an enigma. Stassy has no friends at Hartley and does not seem to want any. After school, she does not hang out with the gang, instead she is whisked away by her father in a tow truck - "the beast". The mystery around Stassy heightens when she accuses Andrew of sexually harassing her. Will one of Hartley's best teachers have to leave the school? Meanwhile, Katerina is doing her best to know Declan. Trying to talk to him doesn't work, so Katerina takes matters into her own hands when she swipes his wallet. Will Declan be charmed by this romantic gambit or will he kill Katerina? It seems the latter is the more likely reponse!
Ronnie has set her English class a Friday the 13th assignment; they are to watch tonight's horror movie - Frankenstein - and write an essay on confronting fear. The kids get in the mood for the spooky night by scaring the cleaner, a simple man by the name of Damien. However, when he is consoled by Danielle, he takes a liking to her that is threatening. Danielle is left at home alone to watch the movie while Allie and Matt head off to a party. Strange occurrences start - phones ringing with no one on the other end, doors banging, blackouts, etc. Could this be Bolton's idea of a joke, or is someone really out to get Danielle? Meanwhile, at the party, Matt is finds himself in a precarious situation when, driven by spontaneous lust, he kisses Stassy.
Danielle is disgusted when she and Declan stumble upon Matt and Stassy secretly kissing in the school gym. She wrestles with her conscience - she should tell her best friend Allie but is stopped by Declan who thinks they should mind their own business. Stassy has come to the bitter realisation that her moment with Matt was simply a diversion for him and that he is still in love with Allie. She is even more humiliated when she is asked to interpret Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" which reflects with bitter irony her own life. With pressure coming from all angles Stassy is bound to crack, but where will that leave Matt & Allie? When June Dyson's son Gary makes an unexpected visit he and Bolton forge an unlikely friendship. However, Bolton finds himself in the middle of a family feud and it seems that he could be the one to fix it.
Stassy borrows Allie's essay and copies it to hand in as her own but when Ronnie confronts her about the matching papers, Stassy claims that it was Allie who copied her work. Declan gets into trouble gambling but when he loses his friends' rent money, he resorts to stealing money from the Shark Pool to cover his debts. After leaving the warehouse, Matt moves in with the Bordinos.
The senior class is participating in a work experience programme. Katerina is eager to go to work at an advertising agency but is disappointed to learn she has been given the job of receptionist. Bolton works with a carpet layer and is excited at a chance at being hired on permanently while Matt has a ball with his position with a professional basketball team. Danielle and Allie follow a television reporter whose desire to do a story on Dani's drug problem doesn't sit well with Allie. Meanwhile, Stassy and Declan, who are the only students without job postings, learn what it is like to be teachers at Hartley.
An old flame from Andrew's past visits him en route to her new research job in Antarctica. While Katerina spends the evening managing the Shark Pool on her own, the rest of the gang works on a science project at the warehouse. Their work however comes to an abrupt end when Matt is electrocuted. Andrew accepts Dana's offer to join her research team and announces his departure from Hartley.
Bolton costs Hartley the first round of a debating competition by agreeing with his opponent, a girl from St. Catherine's Girl School [Allie's former school] whom he has a crush on. Bolton asks Linda out on a date but after his dinner with her parents, they forbid Linda to see him again. Hartley wins the second debate on the strength of Bolton's inspired concluding argument on the topic of racism, but afterwards Linda tells him that she will be moving back to Taiwan with her family. Stassy's home life interferes with her school work. Katerina flirts with Internet dating.
New teacher Tom Summers, son of school Superintendent James (aka Don) Summers, arrives at Hartley as Dyson begins a programme to teach the girls auto mechanics and the boys cooking. Matt doubts Tom's claim to being a part-time professional basketball player and challenges him to a game of one-on-one. Tom's assignment that his class bake cupcakes for the teachers is too tempting an opportunity for the guys who decide to lace the icing with laxatives. Upon learning the cupcakes will be used at a parent-teacher meeting to be attended by Superintendent Summers, the class must confess their deed to Tom who must act quickly to intercept the contaminated cupcakes. Allie begins writing a novel with a promise from Tom to show it to his girlfriend who is an editor. Katerina receives word that her internet suitor is coming to see her and Declan gets a gig playing his songs at the Shark Pool.
After Danielle discovers the body of her deceased neighbour, Danielle and Allie decide to volunteer their time to an organisation that provides companions for senior citizens. The arrival of Katerina's internet friend Charlie Byrd proves that two can lie about their appearance. Charlie attempts to win over a now disinterested Katerina by promising he has the contacts necessary to acquire tickets to a sold out Take That concert. In return for Bolton's help, Charlie agrees to help him keep in contact with Linda who he's been out of touch with since being banned from the school's computer lab for running up a $200 internet bill. Declan contemplates dropping out of school when his mother is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Mr. Summers announces a new Creative Marketing Project which sees the kids pair up to create and market environmentally friendly products from their original ideas. While Matt and Bolton push their "Bolton's Beads", Danielle markets Declan's repackaged musical talents, while Katerina's perfume endeavour fizzles. Meanwhile, Stassy and Allie's project is threatened by Stassy's father's steadfast refusal to allow his daughter to work after school or go to the final presentations at the Shark Pool. Stassy goes behind her father's back to attend the presentations but when he finds out (her picture was in the newspaper), their heated argument culminates in Stassy leaving home.
It's the day of the school's cross country race. Tom's girlfriend, book editor Vicki Hodge, looks at Allie's work and asks her to skip the race so they can work on the book together. Bolton passes out photocopies of pages from Allie's book, the characters of which seem strangely familiar, and not at all flattering, to its readers. Hurt by Allie's representation of him in her book, Charlie tries to impress his classmates by entering in the advanced race but the race is too much for him and he collapses midway through with an irregular heartbeat. Tom invites a pair of scouts from the Sydney Stilts basketball team to come out and watch Matt run and despite Matt not finishing (he stopped to help Charlie), they offer him a tryout. In all the confusion, Bolton rolls to an easy, if short lived, victory. Matt and Allie break up.
Rocco returns from America (Con is doing well) and consults Roberto about the possibility of selling the Shark Pool. Unbeknownst to Roberto, Rocco is once again in financial trouble and is hoping to raise enough money with the sale of his share to clear his debt with Leo Fine. When Roberto refuses to sell, Rocco resorts to stealing money from the business to pay off Leo. When the theft is discovered, Matt must stand up to defend Declan when Rocco attempts to place the blame on him. Bolton approaches Dyson about finding a way to help Stassy out with her financial troubles but it is Allie and Danielle who land Stassy an interview with a modelling agency when they send out her photo without her knowledge. Despite his good intentions, Stassy doesn't appreciate Bolton meddling in her life. Katerina reneges on the agreement she made with Charlie while he was in hospital to go out on a date with him.
Charlie approaches Matt to ask for his help in becoming "cool". After the make-over, the girls's fawn all over the "new" Charlie, and a superficial Katerina quickly changes her mind about the former nerd, and despite her failed attempt to change his personality as well, the predestined couple finally hook up. A former bandmate from Declan's days in "Rapscallion" arrives with an offer to cut him in on her impending record deal. Unfortunately, their fateful partnership falls apart when it is revealed that she is only interested in using his songwriting talents to further her struggling career. Bolton helps Stassy through her first runway modelling session and the pair succeed in bringing down the house, quite literally in fact. Afterwards, Stassy admits to Bolton that she never wanted to model but was only looking for a way to earn money, and when her financial assistance comes through, she is able to give it up. Tom helps Allie finish her novel, entitled "Clouds in the Water", and annou
Stassy enraptures Bolton with her new-found mysticism but only manages to enrage the Petty Tyrant that is Katerina with displays of her so-called psychic abilities. Despite the eventual revelation of the fraudulent nature of her powers, Bolton and Stassy reconfirm their status as soulmates. Hoping to capitalise of the success of Allie's novel, Tom suggests that Hartley High be developed as a Centre of Excellence in the Humanities. Ronnie is skeptical of Tom's idea, and after reading Allie's book, she begins to get a clearer picture Tom and Allie's relationship (and subtly lets Allie know that she knows by reciting to her William Blake's The Sick Rose).
Dyson announces that Allie has won the state literary fellowship but Allie decides to turn down the award after having just learned that she is pregnant. When he is told by Danielle, Matt, who is now seeing Stassy, tries to do the right thing only to have Allie push him away. When Matt and Dani later observe Allie talking with Tom, they come to the conclusion that it was Tom who got Allie pregnant, not Matt. Enraged, Matt assaults Tom in the schoolyard and soon finds himself before Dyson trying his best not to explain why he hit Tom. After learning that Tom has gotten engaged to his girlfriend Vicki, Allie goes to Dyson to explain what has been going on in an effort to protect Matt from being expelled. Allie's future is settled when Ronnie and Dyson convince her to accept the fellowship, which will require her to leave for London immediately. Meanwhile, Tom's teaching career is all but over after he is suspended pending an investigation of his relationship with Allie. Charlie decides to organise a party for his impending birthday but a lack of support from his friends quickly puts an end to his plans. Unbeknownst to Charlie however, Katerina and Bolton plan a surprise party for him at the Shark Pool. The event goes off as planned but is altered to serve as a going away party for Allie as well.
Bolton surprises everyone when he wins the prestigious Henry Lawson poetry contest but his classmates' suspicions are soon confirmed when new arrival, mature student Max Harrison (who has recently quit the army and returned to school for his High School Certificate) reveals that Bolton's work is plagiarised — ironically, the poems are by Ern Malley, the infamous, and fictional, Australian poet. Having already spent the prize money on a diamond nose stud for Stassy, Bolton gets a job as the slogan-spouting street-corner pitchman Chucky the Chicken ("I'm Charlie the Chicken and my thighs are going really cheap!") to earn back the money. Meanwhile, Max leads a revolt against Ronnie and her course material, but when he attempts to initiate a walkout, the class is reluctant to join him and come to Ronnie's defence. Max's short stint at Hartley comes to an end after he helps Danielle spice up her safe sex article in the school's magazine. Ms. Dyson receives a number of complaints from parents about the issue and decides to expel Max and his can't-take-orders attitude. Charlie chooses incorrectly when he must decide whether to help Roberto assemble a do-it-yourself burglar alarm or go out with Katerina. When the alarm goes haywire, Charlie quickly falls into Roberto's bad books, which of course makes him all the more desirable to Katerina. Bolton is heartbroken when Stassy responds to his declaration of love by telling him she likes him only as a friend. Bolton soon returns to his familiar jocular role, as indicated by the performance of his rousing new autobiographical poem: "There once was a young fellow from Hartley / Who thought he could do things real smartly / But he gave up all hope / 'Cause he was a complete dope / If not completely, then partly!"
Bolton goes to great lengths to prevent the closing of his uncle's bowling alley but receives little help from his friends. Dani and Declan win the school elections and want no part in Bolton's plan to create a school bowling programme and instead, Declan proposes fencing as an alternative sport for the school. Katerina accuses Stassy of stealing a lottery ticket the group bought in hopes of giving the prize money to Bolton's uncle and challenges her to a dual during Declan's fencing exhibition. June sits in on Ronnie's blind date with Roger, a real "blue algae" of a guy. When Bolton learns from his uncle that the Hartley Council is taking money from a developer interested in redeveloping his uncle's property, Bolton informs Dyson who convinces Roger to obtain the evidence needed to reveal the Council's corruption and save the bowling alley. A 50's gala is held at the bowling alley to celebrate. Matt decides to move in with Stassy at the warehouse.
With his parents making plans to divorce, Charlie falls into the clutches of a cult, the "Deliverance Movement". Katerina asks Stassy for her help (she was very briefly involved with them) to get Charlie out, and along with Matt, Bolton, and Declan, they rescue Charlie from the cult's commune. Helen is irked by Roberto's laissez-faire attitude towards their impending 20th anniversary and petty jealousies about one another's coworkers only add to the Bordino's domestic dilemmas. Feeling squeezed out by Matt's arrival at the warehouse, Danielle asks Declan about the possibility of moving in with him and his mother. Declan turns her down stating that his mother would feel embarrassed but Danielle quickly realises that Declan is not telling her the truth.
With HSC exams just a few short days away, Bolton rallies his classmates to make their Muck-Up Day an event to remember. Events however go horribly wrong when a fire breaks out in the school computer lab and Dyson eyes Matt as her prime suspect — and threatens to withdraw the entire class's HSC eligibility unless the culprit comes forward. Fortunately, while reviewing the video Charlie made of the days events, Katerina spots the real perpetrator (he's an old friend of Matt's who was kicked out of school and returned to settle the score) and Matt is exonerated. Charlie proposes to Katerina, but after her acceptance, they both begin to have second thoughts about the commitment and decide to put off their nuptials — much to Roberto's delight. The gang decide to create a time capsule to mark the year's end, and after burying it, Danielle announces to her friends that she's decided to take a reporter's job offered to her by a television station in Wollongong.
It's muck-up day at Hartley High. Last days before exams and the kids are looking forward to a taste of freedom for a day... Headmistress Dyson, however, has different ideas since she's found out that Education Department representative, Don Summers is dropping in for a visit. She's determined to have Hartley looking spotless and orderly... She has suggested the kids hold a cricket game. But this hasn't exactly got the kids enthused. Dani, meanwhile is nervous about the future. What will it bring, where is she going? She suggests the kids bury a time capsule to hold momentos that reflect where they are now. Katerina has a party, and since everyone is talking about their future, she decides they'll have a "Victor the Predictor" at the party. Everyone has to choose a name and guess what that kid will be doing what in 10 years time. This proves to have disastrous results, especially for Matt. Matt's future is already changing with the appearance of Sonny Bates, a guy who was expelle
Exam time has rolled around, and the pressure is building. Charlie is especially under the hammer: he needs top marks to get into university, but as he is studying his computer breaks down. What can he do? Ronnie is concerned when Declan is unable to finish an HSC practice essay. Although he wouldn't admit it to anyone, Declan's domestic situation looks like it will destroy his chances in the HSC. Bolton is feeling the hot breath of exam panic as well. After a school career consisting of little study and lots of skiving, he is finally facing the HSC firing squad. He joins with Stassy and the class moron, Bazza, to buy a "hot" history paper.
The Bordinos are overjoyed when Con returns from America bearing gifts and stories of his successes in real estate. There are expectations for him to return to the family business and resume his relationship with Katerina but all of that changes when Con stuns his family by introducing them to his new wife. Needing a friend, Katerina turns to Charlie whom she was quick to push away when Con returned. Ronnie is concerned when Declan does not turn up to the first exam of the HSC. When she investigates, Declan tells her he has been looking after his sick mum prompting Ronnie help him find care from his mother so he can resit the exam. When he shows no interest in the second exam, the truth finally comes out. Bolton has had a tough time in the first exam, so, desperate for help, he steals Stassy's lucky crystal.
A new student starts and her name is Melanie Black.The school dosent have enough money for the school formal so Ronnie arranges a party but only Melanie and Declan turn up.
Someone offers to buy the shark pool and wants to turn it into a nightclub. Charlie moves into the warehouse. Leo Fine has been using the sharkpool for illegal gambling and Matt and Stassy tell him they will call the police unless he withdraws his plans to turn the sharkpool into a nightclub.
It's HSC results day and the gang await their arrival with trepidation and excitement. Matt, confident, makes plans for his and Stassy's future together. But Stassy fails and her father turns up to ensure she abide by the family agreement and move back home. For Stassy this is the end of her life as she knows it. Katerina, intent on going to business college suddenly changes course and puts all effort into a dancing career. She becomes annoyed with the depressed Charlie when he decides to go back to school to get a better score. When Declan confronts Eric about ripping off the Education Department he offers him a deal and Declan, attracted by the money, finds he has been bought off. Melanie has a go at Declan about it and Declan finally confronts Eric.
Charlie wants to buy a car from Leo Fine but Declan advises him against it,as he knows Leo is trouble.Ryan Scheppers moves in with his Mum after his Dad kicked him out for failing his exams.
A new principle arrives, his name is Les Bailey.He isnt popular when he introduces a strict dress code for the students.A guy called Drazic starts causing trouble.
Bailey and declan clash and Declan scolds at him and Declan then quits school.Sydney is very hot and Draz gets Kat a fan but she dosent realize where he got it from.Bailey apologises to Declan and he returns to school.
Ryan stars dating a nude model.
There is trouble in the Scheppers' household when Ryan and Anita's estranged dad, Jeff, arrives. He has brought a gift for Anita, and seems to want to patch things up with her. Anita is pleased at her father's renewed attention, but is in for a disappointment when it seems Jeff is more interested in his relationship with his son Ryan who feels his father abandoned him. Will the Scheppers family be able to patch up its differences? Drazic borrows Charlie's car and smashes into the back of Les Bailey's car. When Les blows his stack and wants to catch the culprits, Charlie is keen to turn himself and Drazic in. Needless to say, Drazic thinks this is a dud idea and threatens to kill Charlie if he reveals the truth. Will Charlie stand up for himself and risk getting his lights punched? Over at the Shark Pool, Melanie is filling in for Declan. Katerina is taking advantage of Melanie's inexperience by making her do all the horrible jobs in the place. At first Melanie obeys Katerina's every
Katerina talks Melanie into holding a party in order to gain popularity. Melanie who is holding a torch for Ryan, hopes it will bring him closer to her. She spends up big on credit cards and initially the cost seems worth it. However, when Melanie's father's video camera gets broken she can't afford to get it fixed, Melanie realises that she has spent way beyond her means. And she is dismayed when Ryan tries to give back the expensive gold pendant she bought for him. Melanie learns you can't buy friends. Ryan decides to live and work with his father. Jeff says that they will need to mortgage the land Ryan's grandfather left him to expand the business. Ryan is shocked at this revelation concluding that his father came back for the money and not for him. When he accuses his father of this, Jeff is hurt and urges him to forget the business, keep the money, but Ryan realises he values his friends in Hartley and decides to stay. Charlie gets hauled up to play beach volleyball opposite D
New student, sharp and sassy Mai Hem baffles everyone when she agrees with Drazic when he makes pointed racist slurs.
Principal Bailey had entered Hartley in an inter-school volleyball competition. For Charlie, it is a dream come true: a chance to develop his skills and represent his school. Les has other plans however, he wants to win and manoeuvres Charlie and Bazza off the team. Volleyball makes strange bedfellows and soon Hartley is represented by the oddest of odd couples: Drazic and Ryan. The two rivals don't last long together and Bailey is soon asking Charlie to rejoin the team when Ryan quits. When Mai discovers that Anita has a passion for animal rights, she sees a golden opportunity to indulge in her favourite hobby, stirring. She encourages Anita to join her in a picket outside a human rights conference whose organiser attends wearing an expensive fur coat. Anita believes the protest will just involve them waving banners and shouting slogans, but when Mai sprays the woman with paint, it is Anita who gets left behind to answer to the police. Over at the warehouse, Katerina and Charlie are desperate. They are down to their last tin of baked beans and will be lucky to afford next week's rent. Unfortunately, the hunt for a new flatmate conflicts with Charlie's volleyball commitments leaving Katerina to find the ideal flatmate on her own.
Les hands out an environmental project which pairs Anita with Drazic. Anita can't imagine anything worse but is unsuccessful in her attempt to get out of the arrangement after having to fend him off when he tries to sleaze onto her. Forced to work with Drazic, Anita starts to see another side of him, noticing that he always seems to clown around in class to avoid reading out loud. Talking about her concerns, Hilary suggests Drazic may have a learning disability while Ronnie thinks Drazic may have a mild form of dyslexia. Anita finally convinces Drazic to take the necessary tests to make sure and offers to do some intensive remedial reading sessions with him. Drazic doesn't want her charity but she insists this isn't charity, she likes him and will go out with him to prove it. Hurt and embarrassed after asking Mai out and being turned down, Ryan rationalises that her rebuff must be because she's gay. When Ryan confides his theory to Charlie, the rumour starts and begins to spread. Mai tolerates the situation for a while but when it threatens to get out of hand she confronts Ryan. When the misunderstandings are finally cleared up, Ryan has the effrontery to ask Mai out again. Mai and Melanie are paired together for the environmental project. They approach the task from opposite angles with Mai seeking the easiest solution while Melanie shoots for top marks. Mai fills a bottle with outfall water and gets it analysed for pollutants while Melanie investigates why the local seagulls are dying around the outfall pipe. The water analysis shows little abnormality and Melanie is shocked to find it's a local lad who's shooting the birds. Mai scores the better mark, much to Melanie's chagrin.
Katerina and Charlie are stunned when they find a baby on their doorstep. Now they are faced with a dilemma — they either have to find the mother or call the police and risk having the baby sent to an orphanage. As they become more and more attached to the baby, neither can bear the second option but with no clues, where should they start looking for the mother? Anita finds herself falling for Drazic but is afraid to reveal her feelings for him to her friends and, most of all, to her over-protective brother. When the situation comes to a head, Anita is left with a difficult choice — give up on Drazic or defy everyone in the pursuit of love. Elsewhere, Les Bailey has made a most gratifying discovery about his least favourite student. In a routine check of the files, he has unearthed evidence that Mai did not complete enough subjects at her past school. Mai will not be allowed to complete the HSC unless she can prove that she knows enough about Geography to continue. Les challenges Mai to a test but Mai refuses. Who will win this battle of wills?
When Les decides to close the school newspaper to save money, Melanie and Mai settle in for a fight. Mai sets up an interview with the Minister for Education and tells Melanie that they have permission to take the day off to do it when they don't. Running late, Mai goads Mel into hitchhiking but the girls become worried about their driver's intentions when he starts to take them into a deserted industrial site. Anita and Drazic's relationship is going strong, much to Ryan annoyance. Anita persuades Drazic to perform a scene from A Mid Summer Nights Dream for the class but when he isn't doing too well in rehearsal, Anita finds a novel way to turn their scene into a success. Life in the warehouse becomes strained when Charlie and Katerina break up, again.
Melanie and Mai end up in a terrifying situation when they decide to hitchhike and as Anita and Drazic's relationship is blossoming, Charlie and Katerina's is on the rocks. When Les decides to close the school newspaper, Melanie and Mai settle in for a fight. Mai sets up an interview with a prominent figure and tells Melanie that they have permission to take the day off to do it — they don't! Running late, Mai goads Mel into hitchhiking with her. The girls become worried about their driver when he starts to take them away from where the wish to go and they end up in a deserted industrial site. There seems to be no escape! Anita and Drazic's relationship is going strong, much to Ryan annoyance. Anita persuades Drazic to perform a scene from A Mid Summer Nights Dream for the class but when he isn't doing too well in rehearsal, Anita finds a novel way to turn their scene into a success.
During a discussion in class about the "battle of the sexes," Ryan indicates that he prefers strong, intelligent and independant women. Mai and Melanie decide to put him to the test and write him up as a "case study of the sexist male" in the school magazine. When Ryan starts passing the test, Mai finds she is attracted to him. Melanie, feeling jealous, takes action to ruin any chance Mai has with Ryan. After visiting a supermarket, Drazic reveals to Anita he has stolen a carton of cigarettes. When Anita starts doing the same thing, she is caught by an irate store manager. Drazic rushes to her aide but in helping Anita get away, he is caught. Anita is faced with the dilemma of turning herself in to save Drazic or saving herself and leaving Drazic to take the rap. Les thinks it's time to embrace cyberspace and exhorts Ronnie and staff to do likewise. After turning down Charlie's request to buy new equipment for the school, Les purchases a computer that also runs an overhead projector apparatus. When he can't get the computer running, Les pulls Charlie out of class to enlist his help. Charlie discovers the problem and Les is left feeling very foolish.
The Scheppers family is fraught with tension as Anita comes to terms with her impending court case. Anita shuns the support and care of her family and friends, preferring to turn to Drazic. However, when Drazic spurns her advances and ends their relationship, Anita is forced to face her fear of court and the magistrate alone. In court, the magistrate is tough. While Anita has Hilary to speak on her behalf but Drazic is forced to rely on the help of a surprise ally. Katerina is miffed when she is overlooked for the upcoming inter-school quiz after Anita is forced to withdraw. When Ryan falls ill, Charlie and Melanie have no choice but to ask Katerina to fill in, despite their lack of confidence in her ability as a quiz whiz. Relations between Mai and Ryan are heating up. However, when Mai cooks a 'get-to-know-each-other' meal for Ryan things don't go quite as planned!
When Blair asks Katerina to partner him in a competition piece she soon finds herself falling for him and the feeling is obviously mutual. When Kat discovers that Blair is married with children, she must decide if she will continue to see him or dissolve the relationship. Having to vacate the warehouse for an evening, Mai asks Ryan if she can stay the night at the Scheppers. Both have different ideas of how the evening should go and neither is right! Hilary is not impressed when she returns from night shift the next morning to find Mai leaving — how will Ryan explain this one? Meanwhile, Drazic has been assigned his community service job and is mortified to find out he is to be the lollipop crossing guard at the local school crossing. Melanie, annoyed that Anita is still in love with him, puts her energy into doubling Drazic's embarrassment.
Les vows to throw Ryan out of school if he doesn't smarten up and hand in all his overdue essays by the end of the week. In desperation, Ryan enlists Melanie's help. Their study session begin well enough but it soon becomes apparent that Ryan expects Melanie to do the work for him. If Melanie helps Ryan out, is there a chance that her feelings will finally be reciprocated or is she just allowing herself to be used? The Shark Pool is plunged into turmoil when Charlie and Katerina each unknowingly hire one of their friends for a job at the Shark Pool.
Life at Hartley High is turned upside down by the arrival of new teacher Jay Jackson and his daughter, Aurora, and Melanie goes through a physical and emotional transformation. Jay is no ordinary guy, his teaching methods are unorthodox to say the least, and his choice of house is odder still. Predictably, Les dislikes Jay from the beginning but his dislike intensifies when Jay decides he knows what's best for the Hartley students. When life lets you down, you can either put up with it or change it. Melanie Black is sick of putting up with it — she no longer wants to be the victim. First she has to discard her old way of life, that includes her look and her attitude. However, in doing this, she treads on a lot of toes. Will this be Melanie's route to happiness? At the Scheppers' house, Ryan and Anita are grounded. To make matters worse, tickets are just about to go on sale for a concert by a breakthrough heavy metal band. If Ryan doesn't get the tickets, not only will he miss out on
Ryan's world is turned on its head when he has a car accident. He and Mai survive the accident intact, but Anita is seriously injured and left in a coma. Ryan is plunged into a world of guilt and recrimination, not only is he facing criminal charges, but he also has to face the fact that Anita may die as a result of his actions. Melanie is also hitting the depths of a personal crisis. She has decided to leave Hartley High to join Jay in the pursuit of happiness and meaning in life. Melanie's dad Tony not only tries to dissuade his daughter from joining Jay, but he is also determined to get Jay drummed out of his job for good! As Charlie grows closer to Aurora he is convinced that he has met his perfect match. However, all may not be as it seems, and Charlie is devastated when he sees Aurora in a passionate clinch with another man. Is this the end for Charlie and Aurora?
When Les decides to hold night classes at Hartley High, he has no idea just how disruptive they will be. He earns Mai's wrath when he bans the kids from the computer room after hours, effectively shutting down the school newspaper in the process. Ryan has little interest in helping Mai protest Les's decision but when he bans Ryan and his mates from playing basketball in the yard after school, Ryan decides that the only way to oppose Les is by calling a school strike. Mai is not impressed.
Drazic and Charlie find themselves in a dangerous situation when they disturb a burglar at the school. Drazic wrestles with the burglar and is able to rip off his balaclava but when the boys' statements to the police vary, the detective decides one of them must be involved. Knowing the burglar is his friend Marco, Drazic must choose between protecting his friend and clearing Charlie.
Charlie is worried when he notices that Anita is eating very little and vomiting after every meal. Reluctantly, he takes the problem to Hilary and the two decide to take action. Hilary admits Antia to hospital in order to shock her into eating properly again but will it work, and will Anita be able to forgive Charlie for his interferance? Ryan is getting restless. He has been going out with Mai for ages now, but she seems reluctant to commit to the next obvious step in their relationship.
Les welcomes Omar, a new student originally from Lebanaon, but makes it clear that trouble makers are not tolerated at the school. Omar assures Les that he just wants to study in peace. However, Omar gets off to a rocky start when he argues angrily with Ronnie in class. Things get even worse in the yard, when friction builds between Omar, Drazic and Charlie. It looks like his time at Hartley will be marred by confrontations. Charlie is becoming very attracted to Anita, but he doesn't know how to tell her. A bad situation gets worse when Charlie is asked to 'buddy' Omar during his first few days at Hartley High. Things are fine until Charlie begins to suspect that Omar is making a play for Anita, and when Anita falls for Omar, Charlie can't contain his jealousy. As difficult as things are at school, they are worse at the Warehouse. Not only is Mai trying to come to terms with her break up with Ryan, but Katerina and Drazic are on a collision course. Drazic has bought an electric gui
With the promise of easy money and a glamorous lifestyle, Katerina buys into a pyramid scheme selling health food products. At first, everything goes well for the budding entrepreneur, however, when it comes time to pay up, suddenly her customers realise they have no money.
Anita is shocked to discover Hilary dating a man much younger than herself. She lets both Hilary and Tim know in no uncertain terms that she disapproves. Charlie unwittingly finds himself in the firing line when he reveals to Anita that he knew about the relationship much earlier but didn't tell her. Mai and Katerina are chosen to do work experience at a high profile gallery. Mai, with her sights set on a career in the industry, desperately tries to make a good impression but it is Katerina who endears herself to renowned art world figure, Michael McCarthy. Sick of seeing Ryan and Drazic at each other's throats, Les sets them a task designed to get them to co-operate with each other.
It looks as if Drazic will be plucked from obscurity when he is spotted by a talent scout from an international blade skating team. But the path to fame and fortune is fraught with difficulties for Drazic. First, he has to prove he is good enough to be a member of the team - no easy task when he is up against some of the best bladers in the country. And even if Drazic does pass the test, will he be able to submit to the discipline and conformity required to be part of a team? Melanie has a surprise in store for everyone when she unexpectedly returns from France and has to move in with the Scheppers. Ryan is convinced that Melanie has come back to Australia because she is still infatuated and wants to start a relationship with him. As usual, Ryan has got it wrong. When Mai and the others want a common room for the senior students, trouble cannot be far away. At first, Les opposes the idea of such a potentially dangerous and ill-disciplined hang-out for the year 12 Hartley students, but
Melanie discovers and takes a liking to a homeless woman which causes problems with her father, and Drazic finds out that being part of the international roller blading team is not as great as he thought it would be. Melanie's parents' wedding anniversary prompts her to reminisce about her mother who died three years ago. Her feelings of loss are exacerbated when she is unable to communicate them to her father. When she discovers Grace, a homeless woman living in the school grounds, Melanie is drawn to her - subconsciously there is a hope that Grace will fill the void left by her mother. Drazic discovers being part of the roller blading promotions team is not all it's cracked up to be, however, quitting the team will cost him. Katerina and Charlie learn a hard lesson when their squabbles over a television set force Mai to take action.
The council issues Charlie with an ultimatum — either he moves his car from the Scheppers footpath or they will tow it away. Charlie's problem is that the car doesn't work and he can't afford to fix it. Salvation comes from an unlikely source when Drazic offers to fix the car free of charge. Of course, Drazic has an ulterior motive — fixing the car gives him the perfect excuse to spend time close to Anita - will this be his way back into her heart? When Ronnie gets violently mugged on her way to school, she decides it's high time the girls of Hartley High were offered self defence training. The girls are excited about the idea ... until they meet their instructor. At Hartley High, Les and Ryan find themselves unlikely allies in the struggle to have a pedestrian crossing put out the front of the school. After trying the legal method to no avail, Les decides to take the law into his own hands. Ryan joins the one man protest and soon student and Principal are languishing in the lock-up of
When Michelle Williams, an old friend of Hilary's gives Ryan a part time job at the marina he cannot believe his luck — the job consists of sunshine, great views and big tips. However, Ryan is brought back down to size when he realises he is being targeted as Michelle's toyboy. Will Ryan be able to fend Michelle off or will he have to leave the perfect job? Ronnie organises a sleep over at the school for the participants of the 40 Hour Famine. Charlie is enthusiastic until he realises Drazic will be there — he senses that Drazic is trying to get Anita back.
Anita and Drazic are back together but Hilary is adamant the relationship can't happen! When Anita threatens to leave home Hilary decides to confront Drazic, reminding him that their relationship violates his probation. Will Hilary's actions drive a wedge between her and Anita or is a compromise to be found? In the aftermath of the break-up Charlie announces that he is moving out of the Scheppers. He seems to be emotionally stable, but Melanie becomes suspicious of his state of mind when he turns up to school tired and unkempt and generally acting strangely. Mai, estranged from her family, is stunned when her father, who lives in Hong Kong, turns up unannounced. Katerina convinces her that family is important and Mai agrees to meet with him. Will she be disappointed once again?
Anita has had it with Drazic. She has long known that he can be a boorish yobbo, but when he insults a blind guest teacher, she has finally had enough. Anita makes it clear that she will have nothing more to with Drazic until he learns to be more sympathetic and empathetic with the people he so happily persecutes in everyday life. Drazic is in quandary — how can he show Anita that he is suddenly a more sensitive and caring guy? The answer is in a pair of blacked-out sunglasses. Drazic decides to "blind" for a day. He thinks it will be easy, but he is in for a shock. Over at the Black household, Melanie and Charlie are about to become more than just good friends and flatmates. After a night on the town celebrating their success in a science test, Hartley High's two biggest nerds find nirvana in one another's arms. In the course of a photographic assignment for art class, Katerina happens to get some candid snaps of Ryan in his swimming costume. At first it looks like she has scored the
Les gives an old mate and former colleague a break and appoints him as a specialist maths tutor for some of the HSC class. Tom's never had a student fail, but some of his methods are outdated. He picks on Katerina, trying to urge her to do her best but it has the opposite effect. She's demoralised, contemplates leaving. Ryan eventually realises what's happening and tries to intervene. Tom hits him — that's what they used to do in the old days. Strolling down the beach promenade, Mai is entranced by a good looking roller-blader nicknamed the Wizard who appears to spread a green philosophy via a series of stickers. Desperate to get to know him she's forced to enlist Drazic's help in order to learn to blade. Her initial attempts are dismal, even dangerous. Charlie and Anita broke up some time ago but it becomes increasingly clear that Charlie hasn't completely dealt with it yet. The issue is brought to a head through a series of video role playing exercises between them conducted by Ronni
Drazic and Anita have decided to take the big step — move in together. They soon find the flat of their dreams, but are faced by one problem — they have no money. To pay for the flat, Drazic takes on extra after hours work with Leo Fine. At first, all seems to be well, the work is easy and the pay is very good, but it soon becomes obvious that Leo is involving Drazic in some very shady deals. Draz is faced with a dilemma — should he get out of the job or continue to enjoy the fruits of crime? Les Bailey is a man with a mission. Every year for the past ten years he has played an annual golf grudge match against his fellow Principal and archenemy, Cliff Tucker. And every year, Les has lost badly. But Les is determined that this year will be different. However, before he can think about winning, Les has to hire a caddy; or, more accurately, he has to 'persuade' Charlie to haul his golf bag around after him. Can Charlie give Les the winning edge? Katerina is puzzled. She is the best
Les is appalled at the school's state of disrepair and demands that the Department takes action. He is shocked however, when instead of renovating, they decide to close Hartley High. Les finds himself without a school and without a job. But most distressing for him is the lack of any regret from his students. All students are moved to Hartley Heights, a neighbouring school. They all react in a different way. Mel tries to find an old student who's life has been changed by Hartley High. Draz and Ryan embitter Bailey's life because they need no longer to be afraid for punishment or suspension. They play a practical joke on Les by staging an accident. Les panics and calls an ambulance, but is furious to find that he has been tricked. He threatens to punish them but they laugh in his face — what can he do... he isn't their principal anymore. However, Les does have the last laugh. Mai talks the reluctant Anita into delivering gorillagrams — guaranteed easy money. In the beginning, everyth
The Heartly high students are getting a hard time from the Heartly heights students and one of them plays a crule prank on Anita.
Kurt is embarrased by hais alchoholic father.Leo Fine is sent to jail and Melanie Blacks dad takes over at the sharkpool.
The newest addition to the teaching staff at Hartley Heights High School, Gerard Albers , is an eccentric and flamboyant bohemian from Spain, who is as at home on the touch football field as he is in the classroom. Albers makes himself unpopular in his very first class when it looks like he will be favouring students from a non-English speaking background. When he becomes aware of the resentment in the yard, Albers decides to teach the kids a lesson about prejudice. Hilary has finally graduated with her postgraduate Psychology degree. However, the moment is bittersweet as she is faced with a life-altering decision: should she move to Melbourne to pursue a job offer, or should she stay with her children? WIth the prospect of having the house to themselves, Anita and Ryan offer their mother all the encouragement they can. Ryan encourages Nikki to enter a talent quest at a local pub. Everything goes well and Nikki wins her heat, but the evening is marred when Ryan is brought home by the police after geting in a scuffle with another patron. Ryan is unable to attend the finals the next evening so Kurt steps in to support Nikki. Has Ryan lost his chance?
When Les confiscates a Penthouse magazine from Drazic in class, he has no idea what the consequences will be. Drazic takes revenge by sticking a centrefold on one of Les' Biology teaching aids. However, Drazic's prank gets out of hand after Les refuses to react and is subsequently made the subject of a sexual harassment complaint and is suspended. Furious about this over-reaction, Les quits. Mai and Drazic find themselves without a home when they are served with an eviction notice. Ryan reluctantly agrees to let them move in with him and Anita assured it will be only temporary. Mai quickly finds a new warehouse but they must wait a week before they can move in. When Drazic and Anita enjoy playing house, they decide to make it permanent. They have two small obstacles — Mai is furious that she is left without a flatmate and Ryan is equally unhappy at the prospect of having Drazic living with him. For Mai, the solution is easy: just tell Anita how glad she is to be rid of Drazic and his bad habits. Much to Ryan's annoyance, Nikki invites Kurt to a party to celebrate her success in the pub talent quest. However, she is made to regret the invitation when Kurt endangers her career by embarrassing her in front of a record company executive.
New kid Andrew arrives at Hartley. Although he has Muscular Dystrophy and is in a wheelchair, he is determined to be treated like a normal teenager. Albers asks Melanie to buddy Andrew — to show him around and make him feel welcome, but Andrew resents the whole idea. Jeff arrives to look after Ryan and Anita and goes out of his way to be the dutiful father. Anita doesn't appreciate it when he starts laying down the law to her, especially when Ryan appears to be able to do whatever he wants. Drazic and Mai are struggling with the higher rent at their new warehouse and can't afford to buy much food — they almost resort to eating leftovers at the Shark Pool. Things get really desperate so Mai decides to do a "stock take", in which she and Draz are a little over-zealous with their health and safety standards, taking a huge haul of food home.
Melanie and Andrew seem happy together but as opposition to their relationship mounts, Melanie starts having second thoughts. She is amazed by Andrew's fierce reaction when she suggests they cool off until after the HSC until Mr. Albers explains that Andrew doesn't have a lot of time to waste... he is dying. Wanting to make the most of their time together, Melanie decides to drop out of school so they can go to Tasmania together. When Kurt's father doesn't turn up for football practice, Kurt and Ryan disagree over coaching methods and Ryan storms off. On his way home he finds Barry slumped over in the driver's seat of his car — dead drunk! Ryan helps sober him up and the two bond over common interests. Kurt is appalled when he arrives home and finds Ryan — his family secret has been exposed! Mai, so often the activist, feels humiliated when Di chastises her in class for wasting paper. In an act of revenge, she and Nikki decide to test the theory that you can learn a lot about someone from what they throw away and use Di as a subject for a science project.
Albers decides to teach a history class with a twist when he asks the class to put Arthur Phillip on trial. Was Arthur Phillip a good man or did he knowingly attempt to carry out genocide on the Aboriginal people? A fight breaks out when Kurt, as Governor Phillip, takes offence to Ryan's tactics. Mai and Drazic need a flatmate to help pay the rent. Drazic lets his friend D'espo move in, but when he arrives in the middle of the night he does not endear himself to Mai. D'espo attempts to drive a wedge between Mai and Drazic and it appears to be working until he resorts to racial slurs to denigrate Mai. Jeff disappears to pick up Sharon, his girlfriend, from the train station. He returns with Sharon — and their three month old baby, James, Anita and Ryan's new half brother. Anita is furious that Jeff neglected to tell them about their brother and is offended twice over when Jeff also forgets to mention that he and Sharon are christening James at the end of the week!
Anita and Ryan are not coping well with the 4am wake up calls from baby James. Jeff feels bad — he came here to help the kids through the HSC but he seems to be making things harder for them. He has a decision to make — either stay and jeopardise the kids HSC or take Sharon and the baby back to Newcastle ―, what will he decide? Kurt, worried by his father's drinking habits, drives him to work everyday so he doesn't drive drunk and is furious when he inadvertently discovers Barry lost his job several weeks ago. In an effort to placate Kurt, Barry promises to change his ways but Kurt is disappointed once again when Barry arrives to Parent/Teacher night intoxicated. Mai, desperate for a story for the school paper, gets an idea when she hears Nikki complaining about being short of cash after busking all morning. The paper is released with an article about struggling students. Nikki furiously confronts Mai about invading her privacy but Mai is adamant — kids should not be ashamed of their financial situation.
Anita and Ryan are enjoying life without parental supervision until Kath Livingstone, the new housekeeper, arrives with her daughter Sarah. Kath is strict in her ways and makes it clear that she is not impressed — Ryan and Anita need to clean up their act. Di Barnett is anxious when a Hartley High student is stabbed in a fight at a bus stop. She decides to consult a security firm and introduces bag searches at the school gates. The kids are incensed at this invasion of their privacy and appeal to Ms Barnett to change her mind but she is immovable — the kids' safety is paramount. It is not until Draz ends up in serious trouble after a prank that Di is forced to rethink her policies. Kurt tells Nikki about his interest in marine biology but when she finds out Kurt is too frightened to apply for a job at the aquarium, she loses all respect for him.
Nikki is furious when Kurt continuously puts his love for the environment ahead of her. However, he reveals the cause of his fanaticism: a seal at the Aquarium is on the brink of death because it swallowed a plastic bag, and Nikki and Kurt decide they will have to find a compromise between their private lives and their love for the environment. Ryan tries to impress Nikki with his record company contacts but, when they let him down, he is left to pay. Anita takes Sarah under her wing, including her in all dates with Drazic. Draz, annoyed by their constant threesomes, sabotages Sarah's promise to Kath to be home early and Sarah is grounded for a month. Draz is not in Anita's good books. Mai is being stalked by a new boy at school but all is not what it seems and Mai gets caught up in a potentially dangerous situation.
When Sarah helps Anita and Drazic discover the internet, she inadvertently gets them both into trouble. Anita is wooed by a man calling himself DJ Byron but when she agrees to meet him she puts herself in a dangerous situation. Drazic has a run in with customs when he tries to order CD’s to sell to his school mates. Both learn a tough lesson! While Nikki is filming Mai performing as a human sculpture in the local mall they film a pickpocket working the audience. They take the tape to class and the class debates what action to take. Embarrassed when Barry turns up to footy practice drunk, Kurt sacks his dad as coach and takes over himself. Not everyone is pleased – Ryan quits the team. However it seems that there may be more behind Ryan’s departure – Kurt and Nikki are now an item and Ryan refuses to believe that he’s lost Nikki just yet.
Ryan, still smarting over Kurt and Nikki's blossoming relationship, is staying away from the football team. However, Barry manages to persuade him to rejoin for an inter-school competition. However, prompted by Kurts constant teasing, Ryan high tackles him and Kurt ends up in hospital with spinal injuries uncertain is he will ever walk again? Will Ryan ever be forgiven or forgive himself? Mai organises for a student helpline to be run at night from the warehouse but Drazic is annoyed by the intrusion. He is scournful of the idea until he is confronted with a suicidal caller himself. Anita and Sarah sign Kath up with 'Mate for Life' dating service in the hopes that she might become a happier person with a man in her life. When a strange man turns up on their doorstep, Anita and Sarah realise they may be in for an awkward situation.
After putting Kurt in hospital, Ryan finds he is being ostracised at school. Feeling sorry for himself, he wags school and meets Mario, a shady character, who offers him a way out of his depression... and so, Ryan begins his trip into the drug culture. Kurt is on the mend but Barry's fussing and pampering is getting on his nerves. In an effort to redirect Barry's attention, Kurt and Nikki talk the local club into making a tribute cabinet with Barry's trophies. At the club, Barry runs into an old friend who offers him a job as a barman. Will Barry be able to keep his alcoholism under control enough to take the job he needs so desperately? When the kids begin to study Jim McNeil's play, How Does Your Garden Grow, Kath is furious — she thinks it is obscene and pulls her daughter out of class. Kath convinces Di to drop the play from the school syllabus and Sarah feels the wrath of the other kids. Can she find a way to appease everyone?
Now well and truly entrenched in the world of drugs, Ryan is at the point where his speed is costing him more than he can afford. Desperate for more drugs, Ryan begins to steal, first from Anita and then from the school. Anita discovers Ryan with stolen goods — now she is left with the task of making him see sense. When Albers sets a project focusing on personal histories, Sarah sets on a trail to find out about her father. However, she may not be pleased with what she finds out. Kurt's return to school brings back memories of his accident, and he is concerned that nobody knew how to cope. He convinces Di to run a voluntary basic first aid course, but Kurt has trouble convincing the other boys to participate. It is not until he reveals his secret weapon that the boys finally come around.
When Ryan is late for class again, and hasn't done his major assignment, Barnett hauls him over the coals. Ryan refuses to be helped by her or anyone and walks out before he can be suspended from school. When he complains to his dealer that he is lacking in funds, Mario offers him a way out — he can deal drugs. Can Ryan possibly stoop so low or will he realise where his life is heading? Kurt and Mai convince Nikki to enter a radio competition singing on Jumpin Jack Jet's amateur hour. Later, Nikki is contacted by an A&R person for an up and coming record company — they want to sign her up. Mai finds out that Nikki is being conned but Nikki, blinded by the stars in her eyes, refuses to believe her. Can Mai convince Nikki before she is hurt? Against Kath's wishes, Sarah agrees to stand in for Mai at the Shark Pool. Draz has a field day — giving her all the menial tasks. In a quiet moment, Draz leaves Sarah to cope on her own. However, the Shark Pool is never quiet for very long and it soon appears that Sarah is in above her head.
Sarah enlists Anita's help to find her father but Kath makes it very clear that they'll receive no assistance from her. After pursuing a series of false clues Sarah finally uncovers his identity and is thrown into the middle of a scandal. Mai is robbed while working at the Shark Pool. She feels even more traumatised when she realises that the robber has taken her house keys. Drazic is unusually protective and sits up all night keeping watch. However, when Mai can't sleep, he suggests she get into bed with him and one thing leads to another… Drazic is instantly and sincerely regrettable — how can he explain to Anita? Ryan, still coming down from his flirtation with drugs, returns to school to find himself ostracised — it soon appears that his educational return will be short lived. Albers discovers that because the school tennis court is disused and in need of repair, the education department is considering selling the land off. He conceives a plan to both rehabilitate Ryan and restore the court in one hit!
While busking, Nikki meets Luda, a recording artist who wants to record one of her songs. Overjoyed, Nikki joins Luda in her studio to produce the song, but refuses to take any part in the contractual details of their partnership. When the CD is finished, Nikki ends up with no credit and it appears there is nothing she can do now! This is a hard lesson for her to learn. Sarah, devastated after learning her father's identity, lets loose her rebellious streak and finds herself suspended after slapping headmaster Barnett. When Kath threatens her with abuse charges, Sarah decides to take matters into her own hands and marches down to the police station to give herself up throwing Kath into an embarrassing situation. Mai continues to pursue Drazic who is busy finding various excuses to keep them apart. Kurt is inveigled into helping Drazic set up an aquarium at the warehouse… which turns into an overnight stay… which turns into a few more days stay… which turns into Kurt moving in. Mai gets the message and confronts Drazic — ending with a promise to control her feelings but this could be easier said than done!
Since Mai and Drazic had a close nocturnal encounter, things in the warehouse have been somewhat tense. As the new arrival, Kurt feels that maybe he's the problem but Anita assures him he isn't and when he suggests a dinner party to get things back on track Anita agrees to help him. The party isn't a jovial affair and Anita gets an inkling of what's up. Her suspicions are confirmed by Mai who, struggling with her conscience, comes clean. Anita is more upset that Drazic didn't tell her about Mai that she is about what happened. She dumps Drazic who is left devastated. Ryan, who's turned over a new leaf, volunteers to help Kath at the local retirement home. There he strikes up a friendship with Harold, a feisty retired musician, and the pair bond over their mutual love for music. When it comes to Ryan's attention that Harold is broke because his pension goes straight to Mrs MacDonald, the retirement home manager, he thinks Harold should get to keep the 15% of his pension he is entitled. When Harold tells Ryan he can't afford his visits any longer, Ryan smells a rat. Kath is sceptical when Ryan tells her that the manager, Mrs MacDonald, is ripping off the residents, but this is eventually confirmed and Mrs MacDonald is sent packing. Sarah has returned to school on probation after slapping Barnett. Di makes her help out in the office so that she can keep an eye on her but Sarah resents it and plans her revenge. She plants a virus in Di's computer causing a hard disk crash. Just when it looks like a speech that Di has to give to an area teachers meeting is lost, Sarah makes herself look good by saving the day only to be found out eventually by Barnett.
When JJ, a prisoner on day release, begins working at the school, he runs into some prejudice from the kids. All that is, except Sarah who, upon talking to JJ, realises they have a lot in common and quickly begins to fall in love. Kath is extremely unimpressed with the changes in Sarah and her continual pushing and prodding cause Sarah to run away from home. How will Sarah explain to her mother and her friends that she is in love with a man of whom none of them approve? When Albers introduces practical parenting as a class unit, Kurt and Nikki are roped into taking on the role of parents to a simulated baby. However, they do not become a blissful family unit, and after a couple of nights with no sleep because of a crying baby, Kurt decides to do something about it! Ryan agrees to Drazic's proposal that the two make some money playing two-on-two together at the local basketball courts. For Ryan it is a way to make some money so he can but a new pair of basketball shoes, while Draz is just looking for a way to get back into Anita's life.
Despite her mothers objections and threats, Sarah continues her relationship with JJ. Kath decides her relationship with her daughter is the most important thing and finally, reluctantly, agrees to live with the situation for the time being. However, it appears Kath won't have to live with it for too long, when Sarah catches JJ with another girl. Could this be the blow that sends both mother and daughter back to the country? Kurt takes Nikki to an expensive restaurant for her birthday dinner and is horrified when she orders the lobster. However, Nikki changes her mind when the waiter asks her to come and choose which one she'd like boiled. The next day they pool their money to buy the lobster, planning to keep it in the aquarium at the warehouse until the tide is right to liberate it. Unfortunately for the crustacean, it is Drazic's night to cook and he has decided on pasta marinara! The girls feel they have no space for themselves at school, wherever they turn they are being barged, bashed or tripped over by boys playing games. A play they are studying gives them the idea to segregate themselves from the male-dominated playground. Led by Anita, the girls approach Di for a Girls Only room and get it but this only serves to further divide the sexes. It is not until Anita realises that her actions have been motivated by her feelings for Drazic that the situation is resolved.
Deciding to refocus his life on getting back in shape, Kurt has a chance meeting with Lachlan, an old friend who is now running a fitness club that is dedicated to cleaning up the environment. Lachlan's ideas on fitness are somewhat unusual but his social views are extreme and Kurt soon falls under his spell. Drazic is taken aback to learn the Shark Pool has been bought by none other than D'espo, his stereo-stealing mate. D'espo is eager to turn the place, whatever the cost, and begins by reducing portions, watering down the drinks, and serving stale food. With her busking revenue drying up, Nikki is convinced he career is in the toilet and she is a has-been before she's even been a someone. Ryan persuades Nikki to showcase her talent properly by making a music video to market her songs.
Kurt and Lachlan discover Skye and her friends camping in the park and try to move them on. Things heat up when Lachlan and Anita later find Lachlan's club house has been vandalised. Anita recognises Skye's graffiti style and goes in search of an explanation. When Lachlan and his mates decide to escalate matters, Kurt must choose which side he is on. Coming off the success of Nikki's music video, Mai is in search of new projects. Nikki's believes her music career is about to take off when she is told a record executive has taken note of her music video, unfortunately when she goes to meet him, she learns he is not interested in her music but Mai's filmmaking. Albers weights a job offer as the artistic director of a regional theatre company while Mai must decide about a job offer of her own, a one-shot chance to make another music video. Between fending off advances from D'espo's girlfriend, Drazic hires Ryan to work at the Shark Pool. D'espo comes up with another controverisal promotion for the Shark Pool which involves tricking customers into believing they have a chance to win a car.
Lee Delaine has two strikes against him: he's the newest student at Hartley Heights and to make matters worse, his father is the school's new Humanities teacher. Lee tries to keep their relationship hidden to ease his way into the student populace but the secret is quickly revealed. Desperate to make friends, Lee agrees to Drazic's initiation test which sees him land in detention for smoking in the school yard. Tired of taking grief from Drazic at the Shark Pool, Ryan is ready to quit his job until D'espo promotes him to Manager of Special Functions.
Sarah is back at Hartley having finally left home and returned to the city. She has rented a flat, but the landlord keeps trying to chat her up as well as beating his wife. Ryan encourages her to just move back in with him and Anita but Sarah is dtermined not to turn her back on her abused neighbour — even if she refuses her help. Lee tries to ingratiate himself with Anita and Nikki by helping them buy a car from his mother but has some explaing to do when Jill can't accept the deal he's promised his friends. Both single and enjoying the life of a batchelor, Kurt and Dranzic hit the town only to fall for the same girl.
When Drazic throws himself into trying to design a new type of skate, Di suggests he consider a career in industrial design. Draz takes an immediate interest but Di tells him if he wants to go on and get a university degree in design he will have to focus on his studies and take extra courses. When the class is given a confidential IQ test, Nikki objects to the very notion anticipating a cultural bias while Drazic blows of the apparently meaningless test in typical fashion. Lee, tormented by Drazic, takes a look at the results at home and revels in telling everyone at school that Draz finished bottom of the class. In light of the test results, Di suggests Draz reconsider his career path and accept his limitations. Kurt becomes Anita's fitness trainer, but he soon realises he has a rival. Anita prefers Paul's training methods over Kurt's leading to a jealousy-fueled fitness challenge and a new friendship that leaves Anita sitting on the sidelines. While helping Sarah move in to the Delaine's house, Ryan accidentally breaks a picture frame. Sarah has a replacement made hoping it won't be noticed but is unaware of the frame's great sentimental value.
Believing she's on a date with Paul, Anita is taken aback when he recoils from her attempt to kiss him. When she presses him for an explanation, Paul reveals to her that he is gay. Kurt and Paul have been getting on well together, busily training together for a Kayaking competition, but after Anita tells Kurt about Paul being gay, Kurt distances himself from his friend, going so far as to speak out against homosexuals in class. Is their friendship over? While working on a communications assignment together, Lee discovers that Sarah is in love with Ryan. She's too shy to tell him, so Lee decides to help things along by slipping her 'secret admirer' letter into Ryan's locker. When Mr Delaine asks Ryan to read the paper aloud in class, dismissing it in the process, Sarah is crushed. Hoping to make amends, Lee tells Ryan everything but when Ryan asks her out, Sarah turns him down thinking he's only doing it out of pity. Nikki successfully campaigns to bring healthy food to the school canteen. Drazic leads the backlash and together with D'espo, sets up shop in the schoolyard selling the kids the food they want. However, Nikki and Di don't make it easy on the entrepreneurs.
Pat Gregory, an old friend of Nat Delane, takes up a teaching post at Hartley, but soon runs into trouble with Lee who is still having difficulty fitting in. Taking advantage of the rumoured trade in black market car parts in the schoolyard, Lee orchestrates an elaborate scheme to discredit Gregory. Ryan and Sarah's romance hits a snag when he wants to take her to the opening of a new dance club. Sure she's the only person incapable of dancing, Sarah agrees to some lessons from D'espo but when Ryan walks in on them, he jumps to the wrong conclusion. Kurt takes the rap for Nikki and Anita when he finds them vandalising a controversial advertisement. Di rewards Kurt's apparent altruistism by naming him the school's representative to a feminism conference.
With his parents waiting for him to choose a new school to attend, Lee shocks them by announcing he is not going to change schools... he's dropping out. Angered by his father's continual comparisons to his seemingly perfect dead brother, Lee succumbs to the pressure and runs away. Di Barnett teaches the class about the stock market. Despite their contrasting investment philosophies, Nikki and Ryan make it to the head of the class... but there can only be one winner. Spurred on by her success in class, Nikki tries hand at investing with actual money hoping to buy Dennis' new bike. Drazic's jealousy, and temper, emerges when Kurt and Anita start going out.
Nikki turns moral crusader when she learns that the mother of her friend Tasha is being exploited by her boss. Nikki takes it upon herself to demand he pay his workers a fair wage but her meddling only causes more problems when Tasha's mother is fired and Tasha is forced to leave school to find a job. In response to an innocent comment by Drazic about no relationship being perfect, Sarah and Ryan consider changes to their images in an effort to please one other. Drazic has some fun at his friends' expense and encourages Sarah to get a nose ring while suggesting to Ryan that Sarah has an issue with his hair. Complaints from the public about the behaviour of Hartley Heights students prompts Barnett to have a student to give a talk about school spirit to the school and a number of community leaders. When Mr Delaine nominates Anita, she panics at the thought of speaking in public having already frozen up infront of her classmates.
Di informs the students that the school has installed a card-swipe system as part of an "efficiency measure". Among other things, the cards record attendance, a system Drazic is quick to capitalise on. As a result, attendance skyrockets... suspiciously so. Di is concerned about Nikki's slipping performance and the confrontational attitude she has developed of late. When Nikki is banned from borrowing books from the library and is then evicted from her locker, she boils over and destroys the system. Anita and Sarah are excited at having gotten their learners permits. While Ryan refuses to teach Sarah to drive, explaining it would be a "relationship breaker", Kurt is persuaded to give lessons to both Anita and Sarah and his patience is quickly put to the test. His patronising and sexist comments don't help matters either. To get his son off the couch, Nat tries to get his son interested in sport and asks Ryan to take Lee to a football match. Sensing an opportunity, Ryan explots the situation for all it's worth. Lee backs out when he discovers his father is paying Ryan to take him out, but Ryan convinces him to go anyway and embrace a new experience. Lee gets a little too into the experience and gets himself and Ryan into a fight with some opposing fans before the match even starts.
In a well intentioned effort to help Sarah overcome her inhibitions, Ryan volunteers her to perform a play in front of the class. Seeing a chance to help Kurt explore his sensitive side, Anita nominates him to be her partner. However, after watching the pair perform a romantic scene together, Anita and Ryan suspect there may be something going on between them… perhaps they are right. Di organises a work experience job for Drazic in the automotive industry but washing cars for Jill at the car yard is not what he had in mind. Fortunately, the perks are easy to come by and with a little initiative, Drazic is soon transformed into a charismatic pitchman for a series of tv commercials. Nikki makes a stand against animal cruelty, but when Lee joins her in a protest against hunting in the wetlands, her passion nearly gets Lee shot. It won't be the last time Lee get's shot down…
Wanting to take her relationship with Ryan further, Sarah asks Nat and Jill if she can have a friend stay the night. They are quick to agree, unaware she means Ryan, and the evening is awkward for everyone involved… except for Lee who enjoys stirring the pot. Uncomfortable with the whole situation, Nat asks Sarah to reconsider her plans. With Drazic in demand for another set of commercials for the car lot, D'espo inserts himself as Drazic's personal manager, an arrangement he assures Drazic will pay off… minus 25% of course. When Drazic holds up the commercial shoot searching for his "motivation", Jill decides to search for a new star. After being knocked back by Anita more than once when he has asked her out, Kurt's jealousy gets the better of him and he begins following Anita to see where she's going in her free time. Seeing her with another guy, Kurt confronts him and beats him up unaware he is nothing more than Anita's driving instructor.
After Anita spends the night with Kurt at the shed, Drazic doesn't appreciate Kurt rubbing his nose in their relationship and asks Ryan to move out. However, Kurt has no intention of leaving and suggests if Drazic's not happy, HE should be the one to move out. Hartley's basketball team has made the playoffs for the first time and Anita has volunteered to film the game. Drazic has no desire of working with Kurt and little interest in playing basketball. He provokes a brawl with the other team and the Hartley squad is disqualified. When a rival student is injured and assault charges become a possibility, Anita's video becomes an important piece of evidence — for Kurt. When Kurt threatens to take the video to the police, Drazic, who is still on a court ordered behaviour bond, asks Anita to intervene. Nikki's new-found love of astrology convinces her that she, an Aquarius, need to go into business with Sarah, a Virgo. Convinced the "stars" will look out for them, Nikki ignores her school work to concentrate on their business, but the intensity of her commitment overwhelms Sarah. Nat's class discussion on gender roles prompts the guys into joining D'espo's Skirmish retreat. After convincing Di of the benefits of learning to develop leadership skills — real leadership skills — Nat leads the boys into battle.
With a virtual Cold War existing at the shed between Kurt and Ryan, Kurt conspires with their realtor to orchestrate a scheme to break their lease by getting evicted. Kurt secretly plans to re-rent the place on his own but when Drazic learns the realtor plans to hike the rent, Kurt has second thoughts. Following a presentation to the class, Anita volunteers to help at a halfway house for the mentally disabled. Despite being the only one of her friends to volunteer, she is surprised to see Dennis there. She's even more shocked to learn his brother is the one she's been spending time with. Encouraged my Ryan, Lee puts his musical talents to use in an effort to win the affections of a girl. When that fails Lee invites her to a party to coincide with his parents' impromptu vacation plans. Nikki misreads Ryan's friendly support for something more. She is convinced Ryan is not over her and is coming on to her.
Nikki's behaviour grows more erratic. She has missed two days of school and when she returns, wet from being in a fountain where she was talking to a cherub, Lee becomes concerned for her welfare. When she tries to share her fountain experience with him, Lee begins to realise there is something seriously wrong with her state of mind. Nat jumps to the wrong conclusion when Nikki spends the night with Lee but the next morning he and Jill get to see her extreme behaviour first hand. They learn Nikki's parents have kicked her out and get her admitted for a psychiatric evaluation. With an important science test looming, Ryan is handed a gift from the photocopier — a copy of the test. Sarah is offended he would even consider taking the test already knowing the answers but when Barnett warns him of the consequences of cheating, Ryan is left no choice but to tank the exam. Kurt's jealousy is triggered when he discovers that Anita still has a photo of Drazic in her wallet. Anita tries to accommodate Ryan but his growing paranoia and controlling behaviour become too much to take.
Kurt takes up the cause of helping find a mate for Wally the sea turtle. With charitable donations hard to come by, Kurt accepts help from D'espo who comes up with a racy promotion for a dance night at the Shark Pool. The event makes a nice profit but with D'espo's assorted fees deducted, there's little left promompting a change of plans. Concerned for how his friend Harold is coping at the retirement home, Ryan decides he needs a change of scenery and talks Drazic into letting him move into the shed. All appears well at first but Drazic soon realises they are in over their heads and Harold needs help they can't give him. Lee spends all of his free time at the hospital hoping to see Nikki but finds it difficult to accept her request that he not visit her. With medication stabilising her condition, Nikki is released from hospital to resume her schooling but a rough welcome from Draz and Dennis sets her back. Lee tries to help her but Nikki she pushes him away again.
After a humbling defeat on the tennis court at the hand of a visiting tennis ace, Kurt takes a personal interest in Bonnie Coyne but her intense training schedule — and demanding mother — keep the pair apart. With Ryan's presence at the Dealing home growing, Nat tries to have a quiet word to Sarah about having him over less often but the delicate nature of the situation is lost on Ryan who refuses to accept he is as pushy as others say he is. His solution is to make dinner for everyone — at the Delaines. Needing a place of his own, Ryan moves in with Drazic. Drazic's mouth earns him two weeks detention from Barnett but his automotive skills earns him a reprieve from the classroom and a glimpse into Di's personal life. It is a glimpse we's glad to share at $10 a copy, until he witnesses Barnett in a vulnerable moment.
To mark Ryan's move into the shed, Sarah gives him a clock that is family heirloom. Needing money to buy a bed, Ryan turns down Sarah's offer of a loan and then takes Drazic's suggestion that he pawn the clock. Sarah asks Lee to play detective to find out what he's done with the clock and together they conspire to teach Ryan a lesson. As part of a science project, Barnett asks the students to bring in urine samples. When Drazic embarrasses Dennis in class, he exacts his revenge by doctoring Drazic's sample to make it appear he has diabetes. Suddenly aware of his mortality, Drazic becomes a changed man, and of course... revenge is sweet. Bonnie's big break into the tennis world arrives in the form of a six figure management contract and Kurt makes a surprising discovery that reveals just how much Bonnie has sacrificed for her sporting career. Unfortunately, her mother has little interest in shifting her daughter's focus off tennis and Bonnie drops out of school. Confronted by her illiteracy, Bonnie makes a difficult decision.
A radio contest for a state-of-the-art sound system catches Drazic's ear. "The Wheelie Challenge" is an endurance challenge that has the competitors riding a Ferris wheel. Drazic and Kurt are two of the lucky ones chosen to participate giving the feuding duo a chance to spend some time together — a lot of time. But is it enough to allow them to resolve the issues between them? While paired together for a school project on politicians and government, Lee discovers Nikki is plagiarising her work. When Mr Delaine challenges her, he gives her a chance to rewrite the assignment but the extra stress leads Nikki to make an important decision about her future at Hartley. Ryan and Anita find themselves on opposite sides of the issue when a local park becomes the target of developers. The siblings learn a lesson on compromise and in the end, neither is happy with the result.
Kurt's sudden disruptive behaviour escalates until he assaults Mr Delaine in the corridor and is suspended from school. Di reports the incident to the police but Nat is more interested in uncovering the reason for Kurt's behaviour. In an effort to break out of their routine, Ryan and Drazic turn their lives over to chance, leaving all their decision making to the roll of dice. Their game soon takes an ugly turn with whatever was left between Anita and Drazic apparently lost for good. Lee is horrified at having to wear the horrible vest his mother has bought him. Further humiliation comes when Jilly discusses his childhood crush on a teacher with Sarah.
Jet, the new girl, arrives in town. She's feisty and quick-witted and inevitably attracts the attention of Drazic. Jet plays hard to get, but the attraction is clearly mutual. She picks Draz up for an impromptu date and he is impressed with her set of wheels — he's even more impressed when she lets him take the car for a spin. But when Draz sees the cops crawling all over the car the following day, he is shocked to learn that it was stolen. He confronts Jet and she reveals her background — she's just finished a sentence in a juvenile detention centre. Draz's anger dissolves as his infatuation with this new bad girl grows. After all the trouble school has given him lately, Kurt has decided it's time to try life on the outside. He has his heart set on a career in the armed forces. Ox has the same idea, but his weight problem has him worried but Kurt offers to help him train for the physical test. Kurt's optimism is infectious and Ox's confidence builds the more he trains. Both pass the physical and Ox is ecstatic when the army recruitment officer informs him he's been accepted. But Kurt's hopes are shattered. The army has learnt of his recent assault of a teacher, and his application has been rejected. Kurt is devastated, but his resolve not to go back to school is stronger than ever. Hartley needs a school captain, and who better for the job than Sarah Livingstone? With a campaign manager like Ryan, it's gotta be Lee Delaine. And as far as the class is concerned, his policies are far more attractive than the conservative old ones Sarah is dishing out. When the election results are tied, Nat is confused — there's an odd number of students in the class, which means someone hasn't voted. Ryan concedes it was him, and tentatively hands in the deciding vote.
A graffiti artist is on the loose in the school and Di is not impressed. Only Draz knows the true identity of the culprit and he's in full support of her artistic expression. It looks like Kurt will be joining the ranks of the unemployed when his search for a job proves much harder than he'd anticipated. But when all seems lost, he secures a job at the local supermarket — hunting down lost and missing trolleys. When Nat gives a talk on careers, Sarah expresses her desire to be a high school teacher. She cops the inevitable goading from her classmates but it doesn't stop her from accepting Nat's offer to take over the class, eventually discovering that just being herself is the key to successful teaching.
In an attempt to boost the Shark Pool's takings and help pay off his debts, D'espo invests in a foosball table and plays host to a mini World Cup. D'espo's venture brings in the customers but when the Shark Pool is vandalised, Drazic has to decide whether or not to turn in the culprit. When Kurt returns to school he finds himself the victim of an unlikely bully. Lee is out for blood — determined to fight the battle his father refused to when he let Kurt off the hook for assaulting him. Lee realises he has taken things too far when he badgers Kurt until he is forced to agree to fight him. Concerned her relationship with Ryan is purely physical, Sarah revives her love of ice skating and hopes Ryan will want to share it. But Ryan's skating prowess leaves a lot to be desired and it's obvious to both of them that it's really not his thing. With Ryan out of the picture, Sarah has an opportunity to meet someone who shares her interests.
Anita is worried about Drazic's involvement with Jet but love is blind and Draz is smitten. Jet resents Anita's interference and warns her to stay away from Draz. Barnett has had it with Jet's disruptive influence as well and warns her that she's on her last chance — get her act together or she's done at Hartley. D'espo's financial problems are getting him down. If he can't raise five hundred bucks in a few days to pacify the bank, he's history. So when he makes a mistake on an order, and three hundred pies arrive at the canteen, he's ropeable. How's he going to shift three hundred meat pies? Ryan comes up with a plan — a pie-eating competition. However, to make the venture pay off, D'espo has to step up to the plate. Sarah finds herself fighting Jarrod's charm when she agrees to partner him in a skating competition. Practice sees them spending a lot of time together and while Sarah is momentarily swept away by the romanticism of it all, her conscience ultimately sees her stick by Ryan.
Barnett warns the boys against the dangers of slam-dunking but her warning goes unheeded and Draz ends up injured. But is Draz suffering a legitimate injury, or is he just stringing everyone along? While Ryan waits on Drazic hand and foot, Barnett is the first to call Draz's bluff by launching an official investigation. When Lee can't get tickets to see his guitar-toting idol, Tommy Emmanuel, in concert, he recruits Dennis to help him find a way to meet the man himself.
Patriotism has come to Hartley Heights — but not everyone salutes to the Australian flag, somebody keeps stealing it and Barnett appoints Dennis and Kurt to nab the culprit. Lee wants to be a biker to get the babes. He thinks he's a bit of a hell raiser in his leather jacket but as Draz points out — the image is incomplete without a motorbike.
Lee once again finds himself an outsider, and the rejection is starting to get to him. If he can prove his masculinity, the boys' club will have to accept him — but Kurt, Dennis and the guys aren't easily persuaded. Ryan finds himself stuck with opera tickets he had purchased when he and Sarah were still together.
Thania has her eye on Kurt and when he asks her about her mothers yoga lessons, she takes the opportunity to try to get to know him a bit better. Seems there are a few spiders on the loose at Hartley and while most of the students are happy to co-exist, Lee takes it upon himself to make the school a safe place once again.
Dennis takes a close look at his love life and realises he doesn't have one. He hones his eye on spunky chicklet, Spike, but she's not interested — Dennis isn't really her type. So in the quest to be her 'type', Dennis decides to change his image.
Ryan tries out for the combined highschool cricket team but is put off his game when a team member sledges him. He is mortified to have missed selection and resolves to toughen up. His efforts come at the expense of his friends' feelings but when Nat gives him a taste of his own medicine, Ryan, armed with some compromising information, sets out to take his teacher down.
End of year Muck Up is upon us and it threatens to be the Muck Up to end all. Di warns the kids not to take it too far and bans Draz from participating. But while he's not allowed to get his hands dirty, it doesn't mean he can't be Head Organiser of the great event!
Kurt, Ryan and Draz scoff at all the swotters freaking out and cramming for the exams. They decide to make a pact — no study, no stress, no way. Barnett points out that cramming can improve results but the boys are resolved — it's time for some serious leisure.
Draz has cultivated a very bad habit and his timing couldn't be worse. He can't seem to stop himself from sleeping in and gets off to a poor start in the exams. Dennis' attempts to humiliate Sarah publicly about her inability to handle pre-exam nerves hit the spot but he pulls his head in when Sarah tells him the real reason she's sick.
Ryan has lined up a classy venue for the end of year formal but his plans fall through and he finds himself on D'espo's doorstep, begging for ideas. D'espo takes over the reigns and assures Ryan he'll organise the formal to end all formals.
Kurt, Draz, and Dennis are bored and broke. In searching for a way to make money, Kurt suggests they start up their own lawn-mowing business. Only one problem — no mower.
Ryan gets a job at a cricket pavillion and meets a legend.Kurt and Thania get together.Dennis fails his exams, so does Anita and Drazic. Kurt leaves to go to Townsville and Ryan leaves to go on tour with the legends of cricket.The crew all say goodbye to each other and Di Barnett tells them she is leaving to teach another school and Draz jumps for joy, but later says goodbye.
Now that Drazic is out in the real world, he wants to increase his income but is not pleased when D'espo refuses to reward him with more hours and a pay rise. Draz finds himself hitting the sidewalk in search for a better job and just when it looks like there's no hope of Draz ever finding a job, Undercurrent reporter Katherine Baker turns up with a film crew wanting to follow Draz's search for employment. When Draz's story goes to air, D'espo is vilified while Drazic is painted as the struggling hero of hard times causing the job offers start flowing in.
Thanks to Undercurrent reporter Katherine Baker, Draz has lined up an interview for a job at a classy hotel. Draz's future in the hospitality industry looks set and he buys Anita a present to mark his future wealth and success. The Undercurrent crew continue to film his progress and are present at the interview when Draz is told he's landed the job. But things take a turn when the manager asks Draz to take his eyebrow ring out for the job.
Zac's old man, Owen, is working him pretty hard at his stone masonry workshop. As far as Owen is concerned, keeping the family business afloat is more important than going to school. Lee enlists Zac to help him operate his four-track recording machine — he could use someone who's good with sound. Zac gives Lee a hand after school but gets a blast from Owen when he gets back late to the workshop. Zac lies to his father, telling him he was late because got a detention for turning up late to school. Owen visits Carson the following day to discuss whether or not to pull his son out of school — after all, why waste the time when there's a secure job waiting for Zac at the stone masonry? Draz is doing it tough in the financial department but he's too proud to accept money from Anita. Life gets worse when the cops pull him up on the street and make him their number one suspect for a bag-snatch that happened in the area.
Zac's trying his hardest to give the stone masonry a go but his heart's not in it. When he can't take it anymore, Zac tells his father he's going back to school. Owen begs him to stay but when Zac refuses, Owen gives him an ultimatum — if Zac won't work for the business, then Owen won't support him. A police liaison officer has been appointed to the school in an attempt to forge stronger links between the police service and the students.
Anita breaks up with Drazic and goes out with Todd Gillespie. Draz smashes up the classroom.
Despo opens a new cafe in the school grounds called La Dolce Vita.Dennis starts dating fat girl Sophie.
Thania gives Drazic a pet piggy to cheer him up.Zac and Gem kiss behind lees back.
A new student who is deaf gets a hard time from the students.Lee askes Zac to leave the Delaines.Marc accuses Draz of staeling from the poor and draz says he is the poor.
Clare Grant,an exchange student from London,starts at heartly.Zac moves into the shed with draz and thania.Marc has a crush on miss Kasis.
Marc and jackie get close.
Marc's interest in Jackie has grown and he's starting to look at her as more than just his teacher. He uses their private tutorials to try to get to know Jackie on a more personal level. Gem and Zac are working on another song and Draz is tempted to wear ear plugs around the shed so he doesn't have to listen to it anymore. But the recording takes a back seat when Gem joins an acappella group at the school and starts taking singing lessons.
Jill Delaine stars work as the new school secretary.Marc and thania fall out but make up whan they have to look for two old heartly students as a project.
Lee is bullied by his friends and soon he is on the school roof... Draz has a party to celebrate the end of his probation.
Drazics dad turns up and does not get a good welacome from his son.A new student arrives and is dressed as a goth.
Drazic and his Dad make up after Draz helps him at the garage however tragedy strikes when Dragon collapses and dies.
Drazic confronts his father when the rent money for the shack disappears. His father's frank admission only confirms Drazic's belief that he doesn't want his father in his life. When Dragon lands in hospital after Drazic hits him, Drazic makes a startling discovery — his father is dying from cancer. Given the little time he has left, Thania encourages Drazic to patch things up with his father.
Drazic is trying to deal with his father's death when Anita comes back to town hoping to help him through the ordeal. Thania circulates a petition in hopes of combating government cuts to public education. Her fellow students don't share her enthusiasm and the Minister won't even see her prompting Thania to take her protest to the school roof. Thania's growing movement attracts the attention of the media and puts Carson in a difficult position.
Draz has inherited his father's auto repair business and is stoked when he learns it could sell for a hundred grand. Drazic's excitement at the idea of a quick sale is quickly tempered when he finds himself the target of a slimy real estate agent and a volatile loan shark. Tess wants to go to the Effigy concert but Tim puts his foot down — those concerts are dangerous and attract the wrong crowd! Dennis has a word to Tess's father on her behalf and convinces Tim to allow Tess to go to the concert. He agrees but on one condition — that she goes with Dennis who has promised to look after her.
Anita returns to Hartley Heights but finds herself struggling to catch up in her classes. Draz is determined to fill his dad's shoes in the running of the business and spends every spare moment he has working to get everything done. Adding to his troubles, he discovers a homeless kid hanging around the garage. Anita makes an effort to get to know the boy but Drazic is unsympathetic despite their similar background.
Marc and Drazic are suspicious when they notice a guy taking photographs of them from the school gates. The man is searching for a model for an ad campaign and both guys want the job but there can only be one winner... or perhaps even less than that.
Carson is appalled when half the class fails to hand in its assignments because watching television took priority over doing the homework. When Carson suggests the kids are addicted to TV, Anita challenges the Dennis and Draz to take a bet on who can go the longest without watching television. Anita is confident she can cruise to an easy victory but the temptation of her favourite soap opera proves too great... much to the delight of the guys who must face their own weaknesses.
Gemma decides to split Marc and Thania up when their seemingly perfect relationship continues to grate on her nerves. Gem starts a rumour that Miss Kassis is involved with one of her students and guides Thania towards making the conclusion that Marc is that student. Marc denies anything ever happened between them but Thania isn't able to accept his explanation and ends their relationship.
Gem lies about marc assaualting her in the cupboard.Draz is arrested by Gillespie but thinks its a set up
Drazic is put under pressure to take the rap for the stolen car parts.Anita asks Gillespie to do her a favour and help Drazic.Draz decides to tell the police the truth and is put in the clear.After realising what Anita means to him he asks her to marry him and he accepts.They invite the whole school,even the princple Alan Carson!!
