The new headmaster of Waterloo Road, a failing comprehensive in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, has to turn the school around when it faces closure. Or at least that's how things were in the first season. The show quickly developed a large revolving cast and uses the school setting to explore many different storylines and characters. The end of Season Seven saw the show move filming location and setting to Scotland where it remained based until the show was Cancelled after ten seasons.
It should be noted that we only actually see a few of the teaching staff and everything seems to happen to them. And a disproportionate number teach English. This extends to the students as well. While the show makes use of single episode characters to explore some more involved storylines, primarily the core student cast will be involved in just about everything. It's not specified what size Waterloo Road is (it's filmed in an old primary school, considerably smaller than most high secondary schools in the UK) but there are probably many more we haven't seen. Of course this can all be brushed off as part of the nature of setting a television show in a school.
Of particular note is that revolving cast which easily stretches to well over seventy principal cast members over the course of eight seasons. The show can be reasonably divided based on headteacher, of which there have been four so far (with a fifth soon to step up). The tone especially changes with each headteacher. Initially, the headteacher was a world-weary cynic with a more idealistic deputy but the more cynical perspective tends to be sidelined, and occasionally vilified, as the show evolves.
This show contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Well, naturally.
- Of particular note are Gabriella Wark's parents (the owners of a multimillion pound fashion empire) who are emotionally distant and who resent Gabriella for being involved in her younger sister's accidental death some years previously. In her first episode after she pulls a series of dangerous stunts including stealing a car, Gabriella's father strikes her across the face in front of several teachers.
- But the absolute king of this trope is Lindsay James's father who sexually abused her and was planning to move onto her younger sister Emily after Lindsay got too old for him. You can start to see why Lindsay murdered him.
- Accidental Public Confession: Headteacher Vaughn Fitzgerald's estranged wife Olga (working as a supply teacher) surreptitiously switches on his new tannoy system before he has a confidential discussion with new deputy head Lorna Hutchinson. Her unflattering remarks about her new colleagues along with the reveal that the school is facing closure and a merger with Havelock High are subsequently broadcast to the entire school.
- The Alcoholic: Christine Mulgrew. She frequently flips between recovering and relapsing.
- One-Shot Character Shelby Dixon is also one, despite being just seventeen.
- Alcoholic Parent: Christine to her son Connor.
- Alcohol-Induced Bisexuality: Subverted when Steph got drunk and woke up in bed with Jo, who had previously been flirting with her. While Steph can't remember what happened the previous night, Jo reassures her that she only took her home because she was too drunk to be left alone, and nothing actually happened between them.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Danielle and Aleesha got drunk on the way to school in Series 5. Danielle's drunken behaviour only got worse after she drank pure ethanol which had been brewed by Paul Langley, causing her to end up in hospital. Josh also drank the ethanol without realising what it was, and ended up in a similar condition.
- Similarly in Series 7 when Madi and Shelby getting drunk during on a school day with dire consequences when Jez finds out.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Or rather just Maxine wanting Earl. Which results in the former's death.
- All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Probably the reason why none of the girls complained when a cheerleading squad was formed.
- Amicable Exes: Philip and Ros eventually become this after she makes a pass at French Teacher
Jo Lipsett and then accuses her of initiating it, and his struggle to deal with it causes them to break up.- Headteacher Michael Byrne and his newly hired ex (who herself has recently married) Sian Diamond in Series 7. There's still Unresolved Sexual Tension though.
- Vaughn and Allie look set to become this after splitting up at the end of Series 10 Part 1.
- Alpha Bitch: Lorraine Donegan.
- An Aesop: Frequently used, in all formats of the trope.
- Anyone Can Die: A disproportionate amount of major characters (both pupils and teachers alike) get killed off despite the setting being a secondary school.
- Apathetic Teacher: Mr Budgen.
- George Windsor takes on this role after Budgen dies. He even resigns when new headteacher Vaughn Fitzgerald introduces a number of community involvement schemes, lampshading that there's no longer a place for a teacher like him at Waterloo Road.
- Artistic License – Education: Take your pick, but when the show was set in Scotland, the pupils still did GCSEs - a set of exams not used in Scotland.
- Ascended Extra: Grantly Budgen. Originally a character just to act as an old-fashioned relic of how teaching used to be, he turns up most episodes later on.
- The Atoner: Gabriella attempts to be this in Series 10 but faces a lot of hostility from both staff and pupils.
- Axes at School: Several times, notably in the Series 4 opener when Earl Kelly brings a loaded gun to school. He then passes it off to his brother Denzil, who gets arrested instead.
- Also the end of Series 7 when Kyle Stack smuggles a crossbow into the school.
- Badass Teacher: In a school that routinely encounters serious social issues, has a lot of violent pupils, and where a disproportionate of number of teachers and pupils have died in the past decade, this is practically a requirement.
- Headmaster Jack Rimmer.
- Standing up to the woman he loves and putting himself between a thug with a knife and a student, all in one day? Who expected that from Chalky?
- Tom Clarkson, who stood up to Earl Kelly amongst others.
- Nikki Boston is a former soldier and not to be taken lightly.
- When Grantly Budgen discovers he has incorrectly accused Harley Taylor of plagiarism while still on kidney dialysis, he does everything in his power to make amends. Tragically, the physical strain becomes too much for him and he dies.
- Carol Barry fakes a leg injury to try and get a compensation payout from the school. Vaughn Fitzgerald visits her at home, methodically picks irrefutable holes in her story, and then sacks her. All without even raising his voice.
- Rachel Mason breaks up a fight between Michaela White and Lindsey James and - though she professes never to give up on a student - threatens Michaela with losing her exams and future if she continues the girl gang warfare.
- Michael Byrne managed to stop his ex-pupil from his old school Wayne Johnson from holding Sian hostage. He also stops a gang from taking Finn away. He even stops Kyle Stack from a dangerous crossbow attack during the time the school has permanently closed down (which the target ran straight into Josh).
- Bait-and-Switch: The final shot of Series 7 is a rapid zoom on Mr. Chalk's face as a truck hurtles towards the entire cast, suggesting he's the one it's going to hit. Come the start of Series 8, it's revealed that the truck killed Denzel and paralysed Tariq, but Mr. Chalk is perfectly fine.
- Batman Gambit: When Leo's incompetence leads to Kevin's computer hacking of multinational technology firm Wire-Data being traced back to the school, Kevin enacts one. Working from a laptop hidden behind the school stage, he hacks into Wire-Data again and releases a data-corrupting worm that acts slowly but is scheduled to rapidly speed up in an hour. He uses this as leverage to get the owner of Wire-Data to sign a contract promising not to press charges. All of this is done rapidly and calmly despite the very real threat of prosecution and imprisonment being on the horizon and the fact that he's still recovering from a stroke. The really amazing thing is that it works and gets him a job offer from Wire-Data.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Andrew and Kim
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted with Imogen when is she injured in a fire caused by Connor. She suffers very visible scarring to her neck that takes a while to heal.
- Beneath Suspicion: Normally Kevin would be the prime suspect for the Wire-Data hack but because he's still recovering from a stroke, nobody believes he's capable of it and he's left off the list of suspects put together by the teachers.
- Berserk Button:
- Lindsay is quick to offer a death threat to anyone who hurts her sister. She means it.
- And increasingly, Mr Mead tends to lose it whenever one of his students are endangered or harmed.
- Gabriella utterly loses it when she discovers that Lisa and Shaznay have vandalised her dead sister's room.
- Implying that Barry Barry is a boy and not a man is a good way to get him to try and ruin your life.
- Big Brother Instinct:
- Floyd does not take the news that Justin is sleeping with his sister Tiffany well at all.
- Finn faces Tariq's wrath several times. Once leads to Finn getting a BJJ mount and smash when he finds out Finn is dating Tariq's sister Trudi and another time when Tariq attacks Finn after Eugene's gang almost burn Naseema (Tariq's other sister) alive. note
- Big Damn Heroes: Frequently. The majority of times when a character is in danger, it becomes this trope.
- Steph saving Jack from being set on fire by clonking Lewis Seddon over the head with a fire extinguisher.
- Josh pushes Finn out of the way when Kyle tries to murder him with a crossbow, with it narrowly missing Josh and gashing the edge of his arm.
- When Gabriella falls into her swimming pool and is knocked unconscious, Kacey puts aside their previous animosity and saves her.
- Bilingual Bonus: Sadly averted with none other than the languages teachers! It's mentioned by Jo Lipsett in Series 5 that Steph Haydock only teaches French in the present tense, and even their replacement in Spanish teacher Miss Montoya makes a glaring error in the imperative tense.note
- Birthday Suit Surprise Party: Narrowly averted when Connor prepares afternoon tea for Imogen and greets her wearing nothing but an apron and a chef's hat only for Kevin and Dynasty to walk in as well. He later mentions that he considered not bothering with the apron at all.
- Bittersweet Ending: The second season finale, everything seems to be going right for the school and then a teacher gets stabbed to death right before the closing credits. It was left open as to whether she was actually dead until the start of the next season,
probably because the actress was involved in contract negotiations. - Blackmail: Crops up here and there...
- In Series 3, building contractor Stewart Hordley blackmails headmistress Rachel Mason with the information that she was once a prostitute so that she will secure the school's building contract for his company.
- In Series 5, underperforming teacher Helen Hopewell tries to blackmail the school's executive head (and her ex) Max Tyler with a sex tape of them.
- At the end of Series 10, George successfully blackmails Vaughn into giving him his old job back with an as yet unspecified piece of information about his personal life.
- Blatant Lies: When Floyd catches Justin and Tiffany on his bed eating pizza by candlelight, they tell him that the lights went out and give an I Have to Go Iron My Dog excuse of getting a new bulb. But Floyd is easily able to dismiss this since he's right next to the light switch.
- Bolivian Army Cliffhanger: Series 7 ends with an out-of-control bus hurtling towards the teachers and pupils, smashing to black just before impact. The Series 8 premiere ultimately reveals that only Denzel was killed, though Tariq was left paraplegic.
- Brainless Beauty: The very bright Bonnie Kincaid gets a makeover during the summer and starts to conform to this but still shows prominent shades of her real personality at times.
- Bring My Brown Pants: A season 2 character, Dale Baxter, developed Overreactive Bladder Syndrome and therefore couldn’t control his urine, meaning he could wet himself randomly. Due to the humiliation he felt, he skipped school a lot. When he’s forced to go in by a social worker, he’s forced to go to the toilet twice to change his boxers and has to carry several pairs of wet boxer shorts in his school bag.
- British Brevity: While Series 1 stands at eight hours, and Series 2 at twelve, the trope is averted for all seasons from Series 3 onwards.
- Series 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 get 20 episodes a piece, including a 90-minute opener in Series 4
- Series 7 and 8 avert the trope to an extreme, with 30 hours per season. (The former premièred just 4 weeks after Series 6's finale)
- Series 11 and 12 both have 7 episodes each.
- Broken Bird: Lindsay James in particular. The girl just doesn't catch a break... Further deconstructed in that her hidden issues make her more short-tempered and aggressive towards others, rather than just being a shut-in.
- Gabriella in Series 10. While before she was a snarky Rich Bitch Jerkass, upon her return she is far more subdued with none the superiority or conniving tendencies she had in Series 9 thanks to a Face–Heel Turn after injuring Kacey in the Series 9 finale and going into therapy between series.
- Kevin after his stroke thanks to a combination of his own limitations afterwards and everyone constantly treating him as an invalid during his recovery.
- Book Ends: The first episode introduces Tom Clarkson going up the school roof to help someone in need. The finale of Series 8 shows Tom going up to the school roof to help someone in need, but this time, events take a more tragic turn.
- The Bus Came Back: A lot of former characters return both for single episodes and for longer stints.
- But Not Too Gay: Josh and Nate's romance in Spring Term of Series 6 was consistently less explicit than every other couple on the show.
- In 6.13, when Nate is staying over at Josh's place, what would be their first (on-screen) kiss is interrupted by the doorbell.
- Toward the end of the series, at a party, Josh and Nate dance together, but while their straight classmates are getting hot and heavy, the boys dance with excessive space between them. A couple of background moments show them giving each other a comforting hand on the back.
- By the time Nate leaves the show, they still have not kissed even once.
- This despite 6.04 showing Josh making a pass at Finn, kissing him squarely on the lips against Finn's will
- Possibly due to viewer backlash, this trope is averted in 7.23, when Josh's drug dealer is shown openly flirting with him, and kisses him outside the school gates.
- Averted with Nikki and Vix whose relationship is shown in a reasonable amount of detail.
- Cain and Abel: Twins Lenny and Lisa Brown. Lenny is a soft and introverted person who constantly tries to better himself (see The Determinator) while Lisa is a Violent Glaswegian and delinquent who routinely tries to drag Lenny down to her level.
- Barry and Dynasty Barry become this when he takes a job as a people smuggler and she calls the police after trying to help the immigrants in Barry's van escape.
- The Cast Show Off: Lenny is played by musician Joe Slater. At the end of Series 10 Episode 6, Lenny is shown playing the guitar.
- Kyle Stack was played by Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson, who won with a very strong series of dance routines. He had a dance and did a backflip from the wall in his audition for the ill-fated Cinderfella.
- Casual Kink: When Connor is trying to prepare a romantic surprise for Imogen, Kevin gives him a pink fluffy blindfold belonging to Dynasty and mentions that "She's an adventurous girl".
- Character Development: Mainly for the students rather than the teachers. The common formula is for a Jerkass character to act as such until a certain event serves as their Heel–Face Turn moment and they gradually become a better person afterwards.
- Granty goes from an ableist Apathetic Teacher to a loving husband and Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Finn Sharkey is an arrogant troublemaker but after his Interrupted Suicide he becomes a much more rounded person.
- Tariq Siddiqui is the same, in addition to having been in a young offenders institution, but gradually mellows out over time. Being rendered paraplegic by Series 7's Diabolus ex Machina ending also contributes to this.
- Gabriella Wark with her Face–Heel Turn moment being retroactively revealed as her pushing Kacey off of the climbing wall at the end of Series 9. Her being the voice of reason against her mother in Rhiannnon's Screw The Money decision cements this.
- Darren Hughes is an immature misogynist in Series 9 who videos girls in the school changing room but his mother's death in Series 10 and his short-lived relationship with Rhiannon contribute to him becoming more respectable and well-mannered.
- Charity Workplace Calendar: In an amusing Series 5 scene some of the teachers try to publish one of these before being found out by Miss Mason.
- Coming-Out Story: Josh.
- Nate to his father, to a lesser extent
- Convenient Miscarriage: Trudi Siddiqui decides to get an abortion. She ends up not needing to as she has a miscarriage before the appointment.
- Corrupt Church: Gerry Preston.
- Crapsack World: One reviewer described it, not entirely inaccurately, as being set in a town that resembles a cross between Dante's Inferno and Baghdad.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- In Series 5 we find out that Lindsay James was sexually abused by her father leading to her eventually murdering him.
- Rachel Mason was revealed to have worked as a prostitute before becoming a teacher.
- Bex has one from the time she was missing: she got sucked into a relationship with an abusive boyfriend who made pornographic videos of her while she was underage.
- In series 7 a new girl named Evie Prior joins Waterloo Road. She befriends Finn, however gets caught out lying about her mother passing away from Cancer, making it look like she’s an attention seeker. In reality, her birth name is Alicia Cross, she’s in Foster Care and her biological mother loathes her because 8 years before, Evie (Alicia) murdered her 5 year old cousin, Abi and was put in Juvy.
- Deadpan Snarker: Plenty of characters, but [Apathetic Teachers Grantly Budgen and George Windsor are the real standouts. Eddie Lawson is also particularly notable for his dry humour.
- December–December Romance: At the end of Series 10, Rhiannon and Darren successfully reunite two elderly people who were a couple in their youth but broke up thanks to Poor Communication Kills.
- Defeat Means Friendship: After Kevin admits to hacking Wire-Data and pulls off a successful Batman Gambit to avoid prosecution, the owner is incredibly impressed by his work and offers him a job. Though he is still extremely unhappy about Kevin's antics.
- The Determinator: Lenny Brown pushes himself to breaking point and beyond revising for his mock exams. After freaking out during his mock English exam and failing, he retakes it privately even though it won't change the result just so he can prove that he can do it.
- Grantly Budgen when he tries to make amends after accusing Harley of plagiarism.
- Kevin when he starts computer hacking because he is tired of being viewed as so limited after his stroke, and is determined to prove that he's as smart as ever.
- Diabolus ex Machina:
- Series 7 infamously ends with one: the teachers and pupils are relocating to the school's new site in Scotland, they stop at a road sign on the border to take a picture... and a truck suddenly loses control and hurtles towards them, the episode smashing to black just before it hits.
- Series 8 ends with a twofer. After a tense confrontation, Tom Clarkson talks a student away from the edge of the school roof... then slips and falls to his death himself. This also condemns Grantly Budgen to a slow, painful death from kidney failure, as Tom had been lined up as his organ donor. The look on Grantly's face when he learns what's happened is utterly heartbreaking.
- Diegetic Switch: The opening act of Waterloo Road's Got Talent is a male student performing "Wonderwall". As it cuts away to a montage of the other acts, the original Oasis version kicks in.
- Driven to Suicide: Lorna Dickey.
- Averted with an angst and romance fuelled one from Finn and Amy. Mr Mead swoops in at the last minute and stops it happening.
- Unable to cope with being paralysed in the bus accident, Tariq rows his canoe into the middle of a lake and then deliberately capsizes it in an attempt to drown. He's pulled out in a matter of seconds.
- Does Not Like Men: Lindsay has a few moments like this, due to her abusive father.
- Do Wrong, Right: In Series 10 when Leo attempts to replicate Kevin's expert hacking of Wire-Data but leaves a digital footprint that gets traced back to the school. Kevin's not annoyed about him hacking the company solo but about his incompetence doing it. Justified since Kevin is a hacker himself and that the footprint could easily get them both prosecuted.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Kyle Stack is utterly distraught when the police destroy his dog after he sets it on Bex Fisher.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Carol Barry, a petty crook and serial con artist whose Establishing Character Moment is to tell her children that "There's money to be made here" when dropping them off at school, has three: discovering that Kevin's mother let him homeless at the age of ten, disowning Barry when she finds out he stole the money raised to send Kacey to a boxing camp in the US, and discovering that Barry (recently forgiven for the theft) has started people smuggling. The last one sickens her so much that she tells Dynasty she did the right thing in calling the Police.
- Evolving Titles: Kept changing in the original run to reflect new characters, but flagrantly abused in the last few series.
- Exiled to the Couch: Vaughn thanks to Allie's Boyfriend-Blocking Dad.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: A female teacher gets hair extensions... and then kills herself.
- Fanservice:
- Elizabeth Berrington aka Ruby Fry, and an uncredited teacher played by a blonde extra.
- And more recently pop star Karen David
as Francesca Montoya.
- First-Episode Twist: Fans struggled to get over Chloe's death in the first episode of the 2023 reboot.
- Flirty Step Siblings: Justin and Tiffany are step siblings and start secretly dating. It does not end well.
- Freak Out: The very first episode starts with the old headmaster, Mr. Vaisey, being driven to a nervous breakdown by the appalling state of the school.
- Josh has one while doing a video project about the school being built on a plague pit. He starts acting erratically and becomes convinced that the staff and pupils could become infected with the Black Death. He's later diagnosed as schizophrenic.
- Lenny has a very subtle but protracted one during a mock exam, cracking under the pressure and writing nothing but doodles and self-hating remarks. It's only discovered because he keeps writing after the exam ends.
- Fraudian Trio: In the first two series, head of pastrol care Kim is The McCoy, Deputy Head Andrew is The Spock and Head Jack is The Kirk.
- Functional Addict: Christine has short spells as this but it never lasts.
- Happily Married: Averted with a lot of characters, as relationship problems are often a key theme in the show. However, it is possible even in Waterloo Road...
- Grantly and Fleur Budgen were this for thirty-two years before Fleur died from a stroke after having to live in a care home with Alzheimer's disease. Grantly had a second happy marriage to Maggie Croft for two series before he himself died from kidney failure.
- Donte and Chlo Charles finally achieved this after several uncertain series.
- Connor and Imogen Mulgrew had a particularly touching wedding ceremony with Connor signing his marriage speech to Imogen since she is partially deaf, and ended up moving together to London.
- Rachel Mason and Adam Fleet at the end of Series 5.
- Heroic BSoD: Nearly always Grantly Budgen, or Tom Clarkson.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Several examples...
- Izzie and Lorna. (Although they do have something of a bump in their relationship when Tom was involved.)
- Maxine and Janeece.
- Aleesha and Danielle.
- Bolton and Paul.
- Finn and Josh, although Josh isn't heterosexual.
- Sam and Lauren. This is emphasized in Sam's final episode when she tells Lauren she would be fine if she and Finn got together after she died. Lauren respectfully declined.
- Bex and Jess, so much so that Bex went back to her controlling boyfriend just so he wouldn't release a porn film he made of Jess. Jess also states that she's indifferent to the release of the film provided Bex comes home, and puts herself in danger later to ensure it.
- Connor and Kevin.
- Dynasty and Imogen.
- High Turnover Rate: Nobody ever seems to stay for more than one or two series as Secretary.
- Hollywood Hacking: Both played straight and subverted in Series 10 with Kevin's computer hacking. When he hacks the school's systems to access predicted exam grades it's incredibly easy. But when he tries to hack a multinational technology firm, it's much harder and takes hours of concentrated effort with no breakthrough until he tries some out of the box thinking and attacks the system with multiple methods simultaneously.
- Honesty Is the Best Policy: During the job interview at Police HQ in Series 9, Dynasty has conceived herself that if she was the police officer, she'll have to deal with a variety of people of different backgrounds whatsoever. However the Interviewer was giving that "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Dynasty. Her chances in the police force would come crashing down because of her criminal family. To prove she's worth it in the long arm of the law, Dynasty has called 999 about her brother Barry Barry, who is smuggling illegal immigrants into Britain. Finally, the police have arrested Barry Barry for smuggliing illegal immigrants
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Rachel Mason, sort of.
- Hot for Teacher: Gabriella takes this to Stalker with a Crush levels when she falls for PE teacher Hector Reid.
- In Series 2 Stacey Appleyard manages to get into bed with Tom!
- Ros makes a pass at French teacher Jo Lipsett after spending a lot time being privately tutored by her.
- Jonah and Spanish teacher Francesca Montoya get into a relationship and almost run away together.
- Idiosyncratic Block Naming: Although not used explicitly by The BBC or in promotional materials, the DVDs assign names to each series' 10-episode blocks, starting with Series 3. The first block of 10 episodes in a series is titled "Autumn Term", and the second block is titled "Spring Term". For Series 7 and 8, with 30 episodes, the final 10 episodes were given the title "Summer Term".
- This system is by analogy with the British academic year, with the Series individually representing school years.
- Humiliation Conga: A fairly satisfying one for nasty Executive Head Max Tyler at the end of Series 5. After physically assualting Philip Ryan, and then blackmailing and bullying him into keeping quiet about it, he is found out and reported to the LEA. In addition to Rachel revealing his deeds in front of the entire staff room, he is forced to carry his belongings out of the school, escorted by security officers, to the unrestrained cheering and applause of a large crowd of pupils. Along the way, he even gets verbally shamed by a teacher who had previously been one of his most loyal supporters. He also later gets a well-deserved punch in the face from another former supporter, Chris Mead, for harassing Rachel over her past as a prostitute. The fact that he is permanently sacked is also a nice instance of Laser-Guided Karma, given that he had been working all term to get Rachel sacked and take over himself.
- Ice Queen: While she does have many redeeming moments, Karen Fisher is not the most approachable of headteachers, and she has a way of reprimanding and belittling staff while wearing a smile.
- Iconic Sequel Song: THAT theme tune used from Series 2 onwards, gifted to viewers by Nick Green.
- Ignore the Disability: Both a meta and in-universe example. Apart from it's build-up and first reveal, Imogen being partially deaf is only referenced once afterwards at her wedding when Connor performs his vows in sign language. The fact that her hair is deliberately styled to conceal her hearing aids is probably a factor though.
- I Have to Go Iron My Dog: See Blatant Lies.
- Incompatible Orientation: Steph's crush on Matt, who is gay.
- Inspiration Nod: The original 2006 series' first episode opened with the Kaiser Chiefs' "I Predict a Riot". The 2023 revival's first episode opened with a cover of the same song.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Eventually happens between Rhiannon and Darren, and Grace; an elderly woman who visits the school's community café. They initially see her as a burden who exploits their goodwill but warm to her considerably over time and reunite her with an old flame from her youth.
- In Series 3 Janeece makes a friend in an old lady at a care home during Y12 work experience. She later puts in a good word for her after she is knocked over having had a little too much on the sherry when Janeece participates in her party.
- Interrupted Suicide: Tariq is prompted to take up rowing in an attempt to help him get over his paralysis, but it doesn't work, and he instead takes the opportunity to capsize his canoe in an effort to drown himself. He's pulled from the water in a matter of seconds, all while screaming at his rescuer to let him die.
- Off-screen with Lorna Dickey at the end of Series 1. A gay couple apparently saved her and the next year she returns completely refreshed.
- I Object: Donte and Chlo's first wedding.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: Lorna's unflattering remarks about the other teachers (See Accidental Public Confession) include calling Christine a "middle-aged alcoholic with no ambition". Christine dryly remarks that she won't let Lorna get away with calling her middle-aged.
- I Was Young and Needed the Money: Miss Mason's excuse for her being a prostitute before reforming and entering education. It works, and she even gets a round of applause from the students.
- The Jailbait Wait: Discussed between Justin (17) and Tiffany (15) in Series 10 but the horse has bolted in that instance as they're already sleeping together.
- Jerkass:
- Leigh-Ann Galloway
- Ralph Mellor
- Lewis Seddon (though he eventually reforms)
- Max Tyler
- Earl Kelly
- Kyle Stack (perhaps the most notable Jerkass Woobie in the series)
- Eleanor Chaudry (who does at least develop a conscience at the end of her 10-episode reign.
- Barry Barry (who flips between this and Jerk with a Heart of Gold, as he is shown to truly care for his family, although he slips over the Moral Event Horizon at the end of Series 9. See Even Evil Has Standards.
- Lisa Brown
- Shaznay Montrose
- Gabriella Wark. At least initially.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- Grantly Budgen. He goes from being described in Series 3 by Tom as "a worse bully than some of the kids", to being described in Series 8 by Christine as "the only decent father figure" in some of the students' lives.
- George Windsor. He enters the series as an outright Jerkass, but softens considerably when he enters an unexpected romance with Carol Barry. Later on, although he's predictably sarcastic about it at first, he gives some practical and sincere advice to Sue after Simon leaves her. He also gives support to Bonnie when she is the victim of cyberbullying, and is visibly touched when she gives him a friendship bracelet as a token of thanks.
- Nikki Boston. Despite having Stern Teacher tendencies, and essentially bullying a student for a period in Series 8, she cares passionately about the success and welfare of the students. As she says to Kacey Barry, "I'm hard on you for a reason - I want to push you to do better."
- Hector Reid may be having an affair with a married woman, but he goes to great lengths if pupils are in danger.
- Justin Fitzgerald flips between this and Jerkass. He's often violent and determined to ruin his father's new relationship but starts a food bank at Waterloo Road after witnessing the deprivation of some areas of Greenock
- KidAnova: Aiden, who manages to get two girls pregnant during Series 7.
- Lame Pun Reaction: Two pupils sabotage the school musical in series 3 by replacing the doorbell and other sound effects with farm animal noises. Mr Clarkson, appearing as a policeman, tries to cover it: "Can you give a cow an ASBO?note You can give a donkey an ass-bo, I suppose." The whole audience groans.
- Letting Her Hair Down: Chloe's hair-style goes up when she separates from Donte for a while.
- Long-Runner Cast Turnover: As of the middle of Series 9, none of the original cast remain, and only Maggie Budgen and Harley Taylor are left over from the Rochdale incarnation of the school.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: In Series 10 Episode 11, it is heavily implied that Bonnie Kincaid and Scott Fairchild had sex behind the school stage. Though they do not get caught in the act or the aftermath.
- Mama Bear:
- Rose Kelly, after straightening herself out.
- Rachel Mason towards her students.
- Allie when she finds out that Vaughn's 17 year-old son Justin has been sleeping with her 15 year-old daughter Tiffany.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: Lenny suspects that new graphics teacher Guy Braxton is having an affair with pupil Carrie Norton after he sees them hugging, and Vaughn sees a video of it. He's actually her estranged brother.
- Mood Whiplash
- Muse Abuse: Sonya tries to enter a writing competition with a story very closely based on Christine Mulgrew's battle with alcoholism. She's far from happy when she discovers "The Inebriated Adventures Of Cresta Meldrew".
- My God, What Have I Done?: Sonya feels so badly about her Muse Abuse that she decides to resign. Christine puts a stop to it though.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Floyd, a sentiment he enforces with a hefty punch to the face. See Big Brother Instinct.
- Narcissist: The new school in Scotland has a wall full of inspirational quotes from celebrities, one each. Lorraine Donegan has two of her own.
- Nice Guy / Nice Girl: Yes, they do exist, even in this rough-edged school. Tom Clarkson, Matt Wilding, Daniel Chalk, and Jo Lipsett are examples among the teachers, while pupil examples include Marley Kelly, Ros McCain and Lenny Brown.
- No Communities Were Harmed: Averted by filming and setting it in a real town (Rochdale until the end of Series 7, Greenock from Series 8 onward), though they goofed once or twice in the first series.
- Noodle Incident: Whatever Danielle keeps going on about with her friends that involves "a bottle of Diet Coke, some chips and a night out in Rochdale town centre".
- Oh, Crap!: A Tear Jerker example where Tom and Izzie realize that Lorna has made the decision to commit suicide, and then find that, before overdosing, she cut the phone lines and disposed of their mobile phones to stop them calling an ambulance for her.
- Oop North: A reasonably authentic portrayal, apart from the more over-the-top plotlines.
- Parental Abandonment: Kevin's father left him and his mother when he was 5. His mother and step-father then left him homeless at the age of 10, thus sending Kevin in and out of numerous foster homes before arriving at Waterloo Road.
- Parental Substitute:
- Steph Haydock to pupil Maxine Barlow.
- Grantly Budgen to the school house pupils, and to Harley Taylor in particular.
- Chris Mead to neglected pupil Jodie "Scout" Allen.
- Daniel Chalk to Kevin Skelton, who later changes his surname to Chalk to further cement their new relationship.
- Pet the Dog: Even the most deplorable of characters, such as Max Tyler and Earl Kelly have these moments, a running theme which leads to numerous Crowning Moments of Heartwarming.
- Poison and Cure Gambit: A crucial part of Kevin's Batman Gambit with the price for the cure being immunity from prosecution for hacking Wire-Data in the first place.
- Poor Communication Kills: Grace and her boyfriend Ted were going to get married but both got the wrong place to meet up. This being decades before mobile phones, they had no way to get in touch, both assumed they had been dumped, and moved on with their lives.
- Pregnant Hostage: When Bolton holds Grantly and his class hostage in their classroom, this trope in invoked when among the students being held hostage is pregnant teen Jade. She is quickly let go along with fellow student Kacey who helps her out of the building.
- Psychologist Teacher:
- Miss Campbell.
- Later, Miss Mason, who is also a Stern Teacher and a Non Giving Up School Person.
- Lorna Hutchinson. She's determined to get to the root of Kenzie Calhoun's behavioural and learning problems.
- Put on a Bus: Mika, who is stated on the official website (and by Tom in Series 3) to have gone to university.
- Put on a Prison Bus: Earl, when he shoots Maxine. He was supposed to come back in Series 7, but his actor's timetable couldn't allow it.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: A particularly ludicrous case. The BBC decided it needed to make more of its programmes in Scotland, including Waterloo Road. So at the end of series 7 the local authority closes the school. Meanwhile a rich philanthropist and former pupil of headmaster Mr. Byrne has decided to set up a private but non-fee-paying school for local children in a deprived area near Glasgow... so Mr. Byrne decides to move there, along with most of the named teachers and even some of the pupils (the new school will have a boarding house). All this is about as realistic as an episode of Doctor Who.
- A slightly less extreme occurrence of this trope: Lewis Seddon left Waterloo Road in the middle of Series 3, after his actor was jailed for assaulting his girlfriend.
- Similarly, the Diabolus ex Machina at the end of that series happened because the writers didn't yet know which of the cast would be moving to Scotland.
- Actually, there are some non-fee paying schools which have boarding houses. Just not many of them.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After telling Sue that he wants a divorce because of her affair, Simon gives her a particularly harsh (though justified) one:Simon: I've spent my life treading on eggshells around you. Dealing with your moods and your constant whining neediness. Sorting out the mess of your frankly disastrous teaching career. And having to be grateful for the scraps your father throws us.
- Amy Porter gives a fairly vicious one to struggling teacher Helen Hopewell. While Helen hasn't made herself a particularly likeable character, Amy is ultimately even worse, and it's hard not to feel really sorry for Helen as she breaks down in tears in front of her whole class.
- Refuge in Audacity: Kevin's Batman Gambit against the owner of Wire-Data.
- Remember the New Guy?: Mostly this applies to One Shot Characters, but new additions to the cast can also be this.
- Bonnie first appears in Series 10 Episode 11 but pretty much everyone knows "Bonnie The Bore" and is shocked at the makeover she got over the summer, transforming her from a Shrinking Violet to a bombshell.
- Replaced the Theme Tune: Series 1's theme tune was completely different.
- Re-Release Soundtrack: The music was changed for all 8 seasons on DVD. Series 1 and 2 have kept some songs such as Kaiser Chief's "I Predict a Riot", Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole", and Razorlight's "In The Morning". In addition, some scenes from Series 5 onwards have been cut due to copyright reasons. As a result, episodes from Series 5 onwards are 10 minutes shorter on DVD than on TV (as it was on the BBC) as intended.
- Rescue Romance: Series 8, Episode 26 sees Kevin rescuing Dynasty from her other boyfriend (the slightly more evil looking Steve-O Malone). After Kevin discovered that Dynasty was raped by Steve-O, Dynasty has denied the truth in what Kevin is saying. Things turned more serious as Kevin, Connor and Barry go face to face with Steve-O. Eventually Barry decided turned his back on Steve-O because he was hiding the truth that he was raping her. After the police arrived, Steve-O was arrested and both Kevin and Connor are in the Police Station. In the end Dynasty forgives herself for not believing the truth and decided to hug Kevin as an apology.
- Retcon: Maggie's introduction in Series 7. She's stated to have worked at the school from 2002 onward before actually joining the cast, which makes her the only character from 2006 to remain with the show at its cancellation.
- Revolving Door Casting: Most characters last around three series at most - which is justified in the case of the pupils, as they naturally graduate over time - but there are exceptions, most notably Janeece Bryant, Tom Clarkson, and Grantly Budgen, who remained for seven, eight, and nine series respectively.
- Rich Bitch: Lorraine Donegan (Series 8) and Gabriella Wark (Series 9).
- Rich Kid Turned Social Activist: Brett in Series 2/3, combined with Mika Grainger.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Darren attempts this in Series 10 after his mother dies of a drug overdose and he thinks her boyfriend has killed her. Christine manages to talk him down but without her intervention it's very likely that he would have killed the boyfriend.
- School Bullying Is Harmless: Series 4, Episode 12 involves Asperger Syndrome student Karla Bentham being the target of Michela White's Get-Rich-Quick Scheme by opening up an art exhibition in the Art Room. Things escalate quickly when Karla cannot handle the pressure of students having their sketches be drawn by her. New student Lauren Andrews manages to expose Michela's scheming plan to go behind Karla's back so she could use her artwork for money. However, in the meantime, Karla has gone AWOL and is later found on the streets by Kim. Karla is once again targeted in Series 5, Episode 3, when she is bullied by several John Foster students, with Lindsey James being the worst offender. By Series 5 Episode 4, Michela decides to get revenge on Lindsey after what she done to Karla.
- School Play: The aforementioned musical, which of course contains Suspiciously Apropos Music.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Rhiannon turns down the chance of a lucrative plus-size modelling job with Gabriella's parents when she discovers that the pictures of her will be slimmed down with Photoshop.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: After discovering that Hector and Sue have been having an affair, Simon holds back from attacking him with a baseball bat, announces his resignation with immediate effect since he has landed a job in Wales, gives Sue a "The Reason You Suck" Speech, says his goodbyes to a few people, and drives off. But not before reversing over Hector's motorbike.
- Secret Test of Character: Allie's art class includes a competition to design a hoodie for the fashion company owned by Gabriella's parents. What she doesn't mention is that the winners get £1,000 in order to see who is actually taking the competition seriously.
- Settle for Sibling: Series 6 villain Hodge goes after Jess Fisher after Bex left him.
- Sexy Schoolwoman: Averted. It looks wrong for the time slot (8pm) and the people who wear school uniforms are school-age characters, who don't do that sort of thing.
- Stalker with a Crush: Philip goes from sending Flick cheesy cards to leaving a set of his aunt's underwear in her school bag.
- Gabriella for Mr Reid. Her opening gambit is flashing him and it only gets worse from that point on.
- Stern Teacher: Mr Treneman. On his first day, when he sees a pupil take another boy's bus pass in the queue for the school bus, he calls the police. He then introduces the "cooler" for those who misbehave.
- Audrey McFall. Though with a strong dose of Reasonable Authority Figure.
- Nikki Boston. This teacher was once in the Army. Because of her experience within the barracks, she doesn't take troublemakers or stoners too lightly
- Eleanor Chaudry: Better not mess with this teacher because she is very stern and doesn't take troublemakers too well. Even the sightless but careless behavior, she can imply the Tough Love method by not questioning her authority at all.
- Stock Punishment: Mr. Budgen gets sponges thrown at him for a fair to raise money for Rwanda aid projects.
- Strawman Political: Mika as a tree-hugger. Seriously, that woman needs some help.
- Strictly Formula: More common for character arcs rather than episodes...
- As mentioned in the entry for Character Development, a Jerkass student will commonly act as such until an event serves as their Heel–Face Turn moment and they become a more agreeable person.
- Usually a new teacher will be introduced, and in their first episode a crippling Achilles' Heel (such as Christine's alcoholism) will be revealed and built up over the course of ten episodes, with the mid-series finale seeing it brought to a climax. After that, the character will either be written our or their flaws will be forgiven and they will remain at the school.
- Episodes also have their own formula: One that introduces either a one-shot or recurring student will have their Jerkass tendencies (Gabriella, Kyle etc) or personal issues (such as Lula's abusive uncle) causing a problem that a teacher will either be unaware of or misjudge the severity of, causing a Heroic BSoD and a necessitating a Big Damn Heroes moment. The student will then either be added to the main cast, written out, or completely forgotten about.
- Taking the Heat: When Connor's frustration about Christine's alcoholism causes him to set one of the classrooms on fire (which scars Imogen), Christine takes the fall for him.
- Amusingly Grantly does this for Steph, Tom and Jo in Series 5 during posing for compromising staff calendar photos, by saying the students wouldn't really want to see it anyway. Hilariously, it gets them out of punishment!
- Talent Contest: Series 5, Episode 10 revolves around Waterloo Road's Got Talent, a school talent show put on by Ruby. Bolton uses it to pay tribute to Grantly Budgen, while Philip uses it to poke fun at Max Tyler's bullying, to Max's annoyance.
- Team Dad: Tom Clarkson. As Chris Mead says, "he's practically fostered half the school!" In addition to his own son Josh, he has been a father figure to the Kelly children and Mika and Chlo Grainger.
- To Be Continued: Most series end on this.
- Series 2 ends with Izzy being stabbed and her life hanging in the balance.
- Series 3 ends with the school on fire and a number of characters trapped inside or rescued but injured.
- Series 4 ends with Ralph Mellor wrecking the front of the school hallway with an excavator due to his vicious attack on poor Marley Kelly as well as a restraining order from his daughter Flick Mellor.
- Series 7 Part 2 ends with Linda running Michael over.
- Series 7 Part 3 ends on the Diabolus ex Machina of an out of control lorry hurtling towards the staff and pupils moving to Scotland.
- Series 10 Part 1 is comparatively more subdued with George successfully blackmailing Vaughn into giving him his old job back with an as yet unspecified piece of information about his personal life, and then revealing that Havelock High is preparing for a merger that would dissolve Waterloo Road.
- Tranquil Fury: Simon after Vaughn talks him down from attacking Hector for sleeping with Sue.
- Transfer Student Uniforms: When Waterloo Road merges with private school John Foster's in Series 5, the John Foster's kids still wear their old uniforms for a while.
- Vaughn's children Leo and Justin on their first day at Waterloo Road after going to live with him when their mother suffers a breakdown.
- Trauma Conga Line: In Series 10 Episode 3, Gabriella (now a mix of Broken Bird and The Atoner) is put through a horrific one of these as revenge for her actions in Series 9. As well as casual bullying and chemistry teacher Sue Lowsley being a Jerkass towards her; Lisa and Shaznay ambush her in the toilets and bogwash her several times, gatecrash her house party, swipe her phone and send a topless picture to Mr Reid (whom Gabriella had previously been a Stalker with a Crush to), and completely trash her deceased sister's room, destroying the precious few mementos that the Warks have of her.
- Toxic Friend Influence: When a pupil is brought in to serve as an antagonist, expect at least person to fall under their influence.
- Kyle is this to Tariq during Series 7's gang wars story arc.
- Violent Glaswegian: Somewhat subverted. Miss Koreshi got verbal, but never physical.
- Played straight with Lisa Brown and averted with her much softer twin brother Lenny.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: In Series 5 Episode 1, Lindsay James arrives for her first day at Waterloo Road, and on entering the school rushes off to the toilets to be sick.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?:
- Where did Sambuca Kelly get her name?
- Barry Barry is initially mocked for his name but it fades fairly quickly.
- Where did Sambuca Kelly
- Would Hit a Girl: Kyle is finally expelled for selling vodka shots and slapping Nikki.
- In the Series 10 Part 1 finale, Justin punches Allie square in the face after she goads him about Tiffany no longer being in love with him.
