Waterloo Road Comprehensive isn't doing very well. When the Headteacher of the school has a nervous breakdown, Jack Rimmer is promoted to the position, much to his dismay. He knows that if the school doesn't clean up its act soon, it could mean the end.
A British police constable and his doctor wife, weary of the turmoil in contemporary London, decide to move and work in a quiet village where life is livelier than they anticipated.