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20 Episodes 2008 - 2008
Episode 1
Lucy Johnson brings her dog, Lenny, to school - it attracts admiration from everyone in her year - except, of course, Jenny Young. The only problem is hiding the animal - Lucy puts it in a cupboard, but before long it is on the loose, with a trail of toilet paper like the Andrex puppy. Kathy McIlroy arrives for her first day on "the dark side" as Mr. McDonnell refers to it - she is deputy head of the CLC - the Community Learning Centre which offers computer training to the general public. Abel brings his younger brother, Theo, in for his first day with his highly confident friend and ladies man Laxo. Jenny is revulsed by the sight of her sister and Togger kissing: Mrs. Rawlinson tells her "there are two things in life we cannot pick: our noses and our families." Tanya's skimpy attire is too much - she is sent home, but she was half-expecting trouble, and has some more orthodox clothes in her bag. After a massive chase, the dog runs into Kathy - but it's only her first day on the staff, and she's not going to say any more about it.
Episode 2
After Kathy witnesses skateboarding Theo almost collide with Lucy, Mr. McDonnell bans the use of skateboards in school because the culprit doesn't own up. Lucy starts a campaign to ban sports in the playground. Theo and Laxo create a counter-website to reinstate skateboarding. A number of stylish skateboard stunts follow, with Theo, heavily concealed, interrupting netball, and even infiltrating the Staff Room. A rumour starts that "Boarderman" is Eric "XS" Smith, who talks only in the third person. He feels compelled to do a new stunt, collides with a door and is caught. Mr. McDonnell makes an example of "XS" in assembly, but the real Boarderman speeds across the stage, and wraps a banner around the Deputy Head. Mr. McDonnell makes an ultimatum - Boarderman must give himself up, and in return there will be a skateboarding club set up. Theo dons his disguise, and admits he is Boarderman, but then everyone else claims to be Boarderman too. Mr. McDonnell admits defeat - the club can go ahead, but there must be no more Boarderman!
Episode 3
Year 6's arrive at the CLC, including Serena who witnesses a fight start between Lucy Johnson and Jenny Young. Kathy tasks Serena with reporting on the upcoming Head Boy/Girl election. Lucy and Jenny are made to work together as campaign managers for their respective elder brother/sister. Alarmed at the prospect of her brother being Head Boy, Lucy plots to discredit Togger, intending that Jenny gets the blame: she adds spots to Togger's photo, gets embarrassing questions asked for the radio phone in, and strategically alters the autocue on Togger's speech. It's all watched by Serena armed with her phone camera. The votes are cast - Togger and Tanya are elected Head Boy and Girl, despite Lucy's subversion. Then Serena gives her report using the evidence of her digital photos: Lucy's bad behaviour is witnessed, and she is booed by the audience, and grounded indefinitely by her mum.
Episode 4
Chloe comes to school with a faked bad leg to try to get out of the cross country run, but Kathy has been watching the CCTV. The forgotten-my-kit ploy doesn't work either: she and Andrea have to wear a lost property mish-mash. Ed and Tigger decide to stick with Alex, and make a go-slow protest run. Meanwhile Chloe's trick to hide in a shed and then take a shortcut start to go seriously wrong when the shed is hoisted onto a truck with them inside! Things worsen when during their attempts to escape, the shed tips on its side, and they are covered with bad-smelling sticky gunk from the old tins inside. Their problems are compounded when they jump into a van and get covered with feathers. A long way from school the tarred and feathered girls busk the birdie song to gain the bus fare, and when a passer-by thinks they are doing a charity run, Chloe seizes the idea and collects even more cash. Both Chloe and Andrea and Alex's group are in trouble when they return to school, and Chloe's collection is confiscated for school funds. Chloe acquires a new admirer though - Year 7 Clooney, who declares her "mad, bad, and dangerous to know..."
Episode 5
The CLC is to be formally opened by footballer star - turned chef - Dwayne Miller, once a pupil at the school. Many of the Year 8's don't like the celebrity who has sold out to a Spanish team and advocates unpalatable food like kelp - they plan an egg-throwing demo. Chloe intends to video Dwayne losing his temper and sell it to the media. Lucy and Rachel are overawed when they meet the towering Dwayne, recognizing him from adverts, and their eggs are signed by the celeb instead of being thrown. In the canteen, as Dwayne's macrobiotic food is laid out, Jenny gets into an argument with Lucy and throws an egg at her - it misses and hits Rachel. Chole gets involved and soon Dwayne's green seaweed goo is being tossed around. Before long, the whole canteen is one huge food-fight arena with Dwayne on the receiving end too. Mr. McDonnell brings things to a halt but as Dwayne leaves, Bryn has a heart-to-heart chat with him, warning him about how Chloe and Andrea have used him to get lucrative footage. Bryn retrieves the tape without the girls noticing. Feeling grateful, Dwayne accepts responsibility for the chaos...
Episode 6
Sammy Lee is the only one who remembered Alison's birthday. Alex determinedly bakes a cake for her, while Tigger makes a special video on his phone for her. Ducket spends the day balancing his sports bag on his feet, as though it is an egg. Chloe decides she can work just as well alone - Andrea must prove herself. Alex brings his cake to a delighted Alison back at the CLC - but then Ed and Tigger burst through the door arguing, and the cake belly-flops to the floor, ruined. Tigger reveals that he saw Alison and Ed kissing on the video he made. The entire group fall out with both Ed and Alison. Alone, Andrea realizes she does not have Chloe's bullying ability - the Year 7's just outsmart her or ignore her; she pays Ducket to pretend to hand over his bag in front of Chloe. Ed and Alison would prefer to keep their mates rather than prolong their relationship - Alison dumps Ed, though Ed claims it's the other way round. After an argument, the group of Year 10's make up - they are all mates again, but it takes a self-inflicted cream cake in Ed's face before Tigger loses his bitterness. At the gates, Ducket reneges on his deal with Andrea and she just looks foolish in front of Chloe. Andrea admits she is a rubbish friend, but then Chloe smiles and tells her she is *her* rubbish friend.
Episode 7
A buddy scheme is launched as the Year 6's start to make use of the facilities. Bored with Top Trumps, Theo and Laxo use the Grange Hill inhabitants instead, marking them for aspects like weirdness. Megan, Bryn's little sister is one of the new Year 6's - she tells Chloe that she is taught at home. Chloe warns Megan and Serena to watch out for their "buddy" Alex - she purloins their valuables for "safe-keeping". Sammy tries out contact lenses, and puts on mascara - it makes Alex take notice of her. Alex takes round his charges, but his efforts are subverted by Chloe's mock fear of him, and Ed pretending to flush Tigger's head down the toilet. Serena's decreasingly low opinion of Alex, and the school in general, is reduced further when he sees him apparently bully Sammy - but he's just helping her with her contact lenses. Serena runs off, but finds her at the stairwell where he often hid himself. They chat: Alex about his troubled past, and Serena about her reading difficulties. After, Serena reveals her dyslexia to Megan, and Sammy reverts to her glasses. Chloe's thieving of the Year 6's stuff is found out, and a well placed foot brings the girls to the floor, with a miscellany of stolen objects falling out of their hands.
Episode 8
A performance artist is due to come to school. A pensioner, Frank Hooper, arrives with some enthusiasm to use the computer facilities of the CLC: Alison and Sammy are convinced he is the artiste and start drawing him. The true performer, Mr. McGuffin, makes himself known to Mr. McDonnell - he is dressed as a policeman and sets up a mystery for the Year 7's to solve, aided by Tigger and Ed. Unfortunately, the boys have real life problems - their mobile phones are stolen from their bags. Tigger's immediate thought is to blame Chloe, who in turn has seen the fake policeman and is concerned her many crimes have been found out. Tigger and Ed inform Mrs. Rawlinson, and they jump to the conclusion that the thief is Frank Hooper. Chloe discovers the policeman is a fake, but unfortunately the real police have been called, and she tries to tug off the beard off of the real McCoy. After a confused muddle of accusations, it's Laxo who has worked out the true thief - Mr. McGuffin, the fake constable.
Episode 9
The CLC computers are set to hunt for extra-terrestrials which gets Bryn's interest. Later, he sees strange electrical effects in the CLC, and witnesses explosions and smoke outside in the vegetable garden. The next day he confides in skeptical Rachel (she calls him "Brain" while he accuses her of only doing what Lucy says). Both Ducket and Lucy have disappeared. Alex is angry because his vegetable garden has been destroyed - Chloe and Andrea are blamed. Bryn and Rachel get garbled phone calls from Lucy and Ducket. Outside, Rachel and Bryn put aside their differences and are amazed to see a mysterious white figure who leaves them a note from "Eggman". At the garden, there is now a tent there, the area sealed off. A local TV news team arrives and records all the wild speculation. Bryn looks inside the tent: he finds Megan there - she's playing a trick on her brother. There's also a very muddy Chloe and Andrea. Then Ducket and Lucy return - they've been orienteering. The true explanation for the happenings emerges - it's an overheating electrical cable. "There are no Aliens," says Lucy, but Rachel disagrees with a smile at Bryn - "There's sometimes intelligent life where you least expect it", she says. Ducket entices solemn Bryn away from the CLC's E.T search, but after he's gone, a message appears - "Is there anybody there?!"
Episode 10
When a pedigree dog show is announced, Lucy and Jenny decide they'll make an alternative competition to see who owns the most badly behaved mutt. Jake is dismayed to hear that Jenny doesn't love her dog, Rory, any more - she wants to return it to the dogs home. The official dog show (organised by Laxo's aunt) gets underway. Chloe and Andrea see money-making opportunities and rattle a charity tin under people's noses, but they would do better with a dog with them. Andrea returns with the posh mutt, Chiquitita, that belongs to Laxo's aunt, but it goes missing. O.A.P Frank turns up but is barred from using the CLC - instead Laxo and Theo appropriate him for their "Schmutts" competition. While Laxo looks for Chiquitita, the bad-dog show comes to an end chaotically, with Jenny's dog behaving the worst of all. The prize dog of Laxo's aunt reappears looking far from pristine - Frank announces the winner of Scmutts is "Chicken Tikka", but Rory is second. Chloe's "charity" cash is rumbled by Mrs Rawlinson, and put to a good cause, and after a few persuasive words from Jake, Jenny decides she wants to keep Rory after all.
Episode 11
Rachel offers to replace Lucy's broken MP3 player with a brand new one - Lucy becomes annoyed with her, slaps her and calls her a spoilt brat. In the CLC, a team-building exercise is under way to demonstrate the power of teamwork. The teams of four have to follow a series of clues and build a bridge with the parts they find. Meanwhile, Alex is struggling with the pressure of exams: Sammy introduces him to Tai Chi. He sails through the exam, full of confidence. The ineffectual Miss Bettany is shocked to realize she's messed up with the clues, and both red and yellow teams are racing for the same location. The blue team find their clue in the trees - Gyngel, previously worried about being called "Lofty" realizes his height has some advantages. When the teams come back, it becomes apparent that all teams have to work together with all their bridge parts. Serena takes charge - she shows prowess in seeing the design in her head. The bridge is complete and Lucy and Rachel cross it. Where they meet, they make up, Rachel giving a Lucy a cheap MP3 player from the market. The treasure chest is opened - inside is a teddy - everyone agrees Serena must have it.
Episode 12
Tigger is infatuated with Kathy, and happily agrees to help with an after-school task of showing round the mayor. When Lucy finds her dad is working for the local petting farm, delivering animals to the abattoir, she turns vegetarian - Jenny is skeptical that she'll keep it up for long. Lucy persuades the others to go with her to the farm to make a protest, but instead they bring back animals to the CLC. With the press due, Chloe is all dolled up, but becomes disheveled, in a panic about the animals. In the CLC, things rapidly get out of hand, and rats chew the cables, locking the electronic doors. While the Mayor is led on a tour round school by Tigger, the sound of Chloe's screams is heard over the school radio. The photographer arrives, but his statement that he is here for "the shoot" is misunderstood by Lucy. Finally, with Lucy's father on the premises, the CLC is opened, and order restored. The mayor approves of Lucy's protest, and Mr. Johnson isn't entirely unsympathetic. He tells Lucy that he's changed jobs to handling vegetables, but she and her mates have to come after school to muck out the animals.
Episode 13
Jenny enters the inter-school music competition - which offers a trip to Liverpool and money for instruments - but is surprised when friend Jake appears with his own violin, turning the performance into a duet. Bryn and Ducket's piece is a mute comedy act. Megan and Serena fall out over trying to impress head-girl Tanya. Jenny refuses to play with Jake, and it's Bryn and Ducket who win through to represent the school. As the inter-school concert gets underway, Bryn and Ducket decide they need to join forces with both Jenny and Jake, and between them all, they secure the prize. Tanya and Miss Green get Serena and Megan to stick up for each other, and they become friends again. Outside, the four musicians hold aloft the giant cheque. "Liverpool, here we come!" says Ducket.
Episode 14
Togger is overheard talking on his mobile about "Tanya being ready" - before long, Lucy has it in her head that he's going to propose to Tanya. She marches up to Head Girl Tanya and says: "You're not marrying our Tog." The school trip to Liverpool seems an ideal opportunity for Tigger to see Crew 82's secret gig, the location of which is found by a series of text message clues. Banned from going, they stowaway on board in the tiny toilet, but Chloe spots them in there, learns their reason for going, and extracts some bribe money to keep quiet. Hopelessly lost because of false clues texted by a mischievous Chloe, Tigger makes a call back to the mobile that sent all the fake clues - Chloe's phone rings, and Tigger pours out a torrent of complaints - except that it's Kathy who hears it, having confiscated the phone. Then a proper text message clue arrives - the gig is at the famous Cavern at 3pm. The worst is about to happen - in Lucy's eyes - as Togger kneels down in front of Tanya - but he's merely retrieving the item he dropped - a present for her, a football season ticket. At the Cavern club, Tigger and his mates perform a rap to try to win the cash prize in the competition - their piece is virtually an audio begging letter! Crew 82 takes pity on them, and drives them back to rendezvous with the coach. Tigger's happy balloon is burst when he sees Kathy, and she calls his mobile - "You were just about to tell me where to put the chuffing gig", she says.
Episode 15
Twenty words to describe your family - that's the task set for Grange Hill, on a day which sets out to define who everyone "is". Slaves, in the guise of Year 10's, are auctioned off - Laxo and Theo club together to buy Tigger to show them the secrets of Grange Hill. Clooney and Gyngel put a paltry bid in for smug Chloe and Andrea who never would believe anyone would dare try to enslave them. Gyngel gets Andrea to wear "Spock" ears and is slowly won over to the cause of Star Trek, while Chloe keeps Clooney's amorous advances firmly at bay. Frank Hooper turns up - Lucy is surprised when Rachel makes a getaway on sighting him. Frank explains to Kathy that he's Rachel's grandfather. Rachel tells Lucy and Bryn that her mother has made her grandfather persona non grata. Frank explains he long ago had an affair with his wife's sister and there was a child that Rachel does not know about, a lost aunt in Los Angeles. Through Miss Green's intervention, Rachel talks to her grandfather, and sees through the web-cam her new cousin in America, a baby called Grace. Rachel agrees to talk to her mother, and to show her a picture of Grace. "Bye, Grandad," she says when she leaves.
Episode 16
While Alex and Ed seem set for a wrestling grapple over Sammy, Andrea's aptitude for spelling puts her in the team for the Inter School Spelling Grapple. Chloe is scornful, telling her to spell pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis if she's so clever. When Mr. McDonnell finds out and bans the fight from taking place Tigger decides they'll stage the fight secretly, and stream it on a web-cam, taking bets for the outcome. Andrea meets the spelling champion, Olive Olliver, who silently spells out "Drop Dead Loser" with her Alphabeti Spaghetti. Sammy finds out that the wrestling match is just a scam - there is no real fight - she makes it clear she'll not speak to either of them again unless they abort the fake match, and Alex complies. The web-stream is replaced by feed from the spelling contest, and Chloe finds herself drawn in, rooting for Andrea. All the competition is beaten, leaving just Andrea and Olive: Olive fails to spell continuum - Andrea's word is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis - she wins. Alex is about to ask Sammy out to the end of term prom when XS appears in a wrestling outfit, jumping on him. Alex leaves in an ambulance - to his horror he sees Ed with his arm around Sammy. Andrea triumphantly shows Chloe the Spelling Grapple cup - Chloe observes that they spelt her name wrong!
Episode 17
Theo and Laxo decide to be mute for the day, but still play pranks on everyone. When Chloe makes fun of Serena's dyslexia, her mentor Alex decides that they'll hold a "bullies court". Chloe is persuaded to agree to the trial: in advance, Alex imagines proceedings in the form of a typically inane reality-TV-slanging-match type show. Back to reality, and Chloe refuses to apologize despite the threat of expulsion. Still she refuses, even though everyone present tries to appeal to her sense of fair-play, bringing up her name-calling, stealing and bullying of those younger. Finally Andrea pipes up in defense - "Her mum's in a wheelchair," she explains, but Chloe walks away. Serena feels let down by Alex's failure, but one-armed Miss Green confronts Chloe taunting her into the usual type of joke made against her disability, not allowing her to leave. She makes the point about how it feels to be singled out, and finally, and almost incoherently, Chloe does apologize. Chloe goes home to her wheelchair-bound mother, annoyed with Andrea. She blows out the candle on her cake and the doorbell rings - it's Andrea with a present for her and reluctantly Chloe accepts the gift from her friend, and a hug too.
Episode 18
When Jake and the other Year 8's get embroiled in virtual reality historical computer simulations, Jenny falls out with Jake and makes a new friend of Patsy Clark. Patsy's home life, an anorexic sister in America, her father working in espionage, all seem a little unbelievable to Lucy. Other Year 7's support Patsy, and the issue evolves into a dispute between Year 7 and Year 8's. Kathy bans war-games in the CLC, but the enthusiasm for the English Civil war impresses Mr. McDonnell in the History class. Alex is involved with a "second life" type game without realizing he is chatting to Patsy who is on another terminal. Alison and Sammy make their own avatar and use a magazine to create a persona to talk to him with. Then they realize the magazine contains Patsy's fictional life story. The big Civil War battle starts in the CLC, manifesting itself as a Year 7 vs Year 8 struggle, but before long it becomes a physical affair with paper missiles thrown. Alex, Alison and Sammy restore the peace by showing that Patsy's home life was taken from the magazine. On their own, Jenny tells off Patsy for making so much trouble, but softens when Patsy tells her that her father is in prison...
Episode 19
French exchange student Cecile sets the Year 10 male pulses racing. Tigger gets the job of escorting Cecile around: the others take a dislike to her superior attitude, especially when they become close, and she changes Tigger's image and hairstyle. He belittles his former friends, and abandons the Year 7's who look up to him. When he's following Cecile he bumps his head on a netball post, and finds the world changed... He meets a re-styled chic business-women-type Sammy, a pierced-lip punked-up Ed, protection-racket mob-boss Alex, a glammed up Mrs Rawlinson, Ugly-Betty-lookalike Alison - and worst of all, he finds his girlfriend - no, actually fiancée! - is apparently Chloe Moore. Tigger runs off, falls over - and then awakens from his nightmare, concussed. He realizes he has been a fool with the new look, and makes an amicable termination of his association with Cecile. He glances at Chloe, thankful things have returned to normal, but does he imagine the wink she gives him?!
Episode 20
On the last day of school, Togger reminisces with Abel and Tanya about the old days: they recall their treasure hunt in the sewer tunnel - nearby, the Year 7's overhear and decide to explore themselves. Togger's on the verge of quitting, so Tanya calls in his uncle to persuade him to stay for his final year. Gyngel and Clooney hack the online dating system and Chloe and Andrea get Clooney's face on the screen instead of details of the promised date. Angrily Chloe hunts them down, following them into the sewer pipe. Above ground, Tucker gets off his motorbike and seeks out his nephew: he tells Togger that he left school with too few qualifications and it was the worst mistake of his life. Underground, the Year 7's, with Chloe and Andrea meet up with Frank Hooper, and they come across a Second World War bomb that seems to be ticking. Chloe gets her foot stuck in a grating trying to get at a pound coin, and misery wanting company lures Andrea into the same predicament. Above, they hear the prom starting up and realize they are directly under the school. Gyngel escapes and brings an end to the prom, but Alex is not going to be deprived of his dance with Sammy, even without music. Underground, as everyone scrambles to escape, Frank covers the bomb with himself - but it's just his alarm clock that goes off. Chloe and Andrea realize their dates were Tigger and Ed - and Tigger and Andrea do have things in common, though Ed runs off when Chloe chases him. Frank is reconciled with his daughter (Rachel's mum). Togger gives a letter to Mr. McDonnell. Tucker's words ring in his ears - "every year is a clean sheet" - Togger's letter is also blank. Togger passes a sign on the way out - "New Year 7's this way" - for old times' sake, he twists the arrow around the other way. And just as he walked through the gates some 30 years earlier, Peter "Tucker" Jenkins passes through them in the opposite direction.