In the first week of a new school year, Lila's mother arrives, trying to get he daughter to come home, Kate is trying to get recognition for her own work, Owen is forced to work with Cal, a chav rapper who is everything Owen is not, and Joe tries to make some friends.
Everyone must study and prepare for some auditions that will give six people much needed points to progress to the second year. The winners will be a musician, an actor, a dancer, a sound mixer, a lighter and a writer. Things don't go so well for some students. Also Joe's cousin comes to visit and brings his dog with him.
As part of an assignment the students have to invent characters to role-play for blind dates. They write anonymous adverts in the hope of attracting a date, but it doesn't all go to plan. Everyone seems to want something from Kate on her birthday, and Lila makes a heartbreaking discovery.
Owen and Kate are openly in a relationship, which leaves Joe feeling a little left out and Lila trying to hide her hurt. Ash introduces Lila to Bollywood. They begin to hit it off, just as Owen turns up with a surprise. Joe fights to save his group of friends and is determined to put it right. He makes a movie of the good times they have had together and shows it to Kate, Owen and Lila to show them what good friends they are but they just point out to Joe that his film is fake, and they sadly go their separate ways.
The gang go on a road trip for Owen's first gig. Kate and Owen try to work things out, but his feelings for Lila get in the way. Joe meets his perfect woman. Whilst Matt questions his musical talent, he and Lila get to know each other a bit better and Jen makes a life-changing decision.
Lila and Matt's drunken mistake comes back to haunt them when Owen and Matt collide. Joe works on the lighting for the Christmas ball but his class don't like that he makes the rest of them look bad.