When his father walks out on his mother and himself, bespectacled, nerdy Will McKenzie is forced to leave his private school and enrol at the local comprehensive, where his accent and appearance make him an easy target for the school psycho. Seeking to make friends with 'normal' boys he pals up with Jay, Neil and Simon, but none of them are exactly winners, as is evidenced when they try to buy alcohol in a pub

The four bunk off School and get drunk. Simon tells Carli D'amato he loves her by writing it on her drive way in big letters. It ends badly when Simon and Will's parents find out what they've been doing all day.

It's the end of term and Will has been voted the chairman of the Christmas prom committee, an enviable position indeed.