Petra has decided to stay in Australia and enjoy life as an ordinary teenager, however when the Berlin Ballet offers her a contract she has a difficult choice to make. When Scout auditions for the Junior School summer programme, Kat is able to make amends for disappointing the younger girl. Meanwhile Sammy and Abigail have started meeting in secret and Abigail has no intention of making it public knowledge – they're just kissing, it's not a relationship....

Christian reluctantly agrees to dance in Ethan's showcase but can't stand the derivative choreography. In order to show this ballet boy some real hip-hop, Christian takes Ethan home to Maroubra. Sammy admits to having feelings for someone at the Academy and while Tara and Kat try to figure out her identity, Tara gives Kat a lesson on what it means to have a crush.

The National Ballet comes to town and Tara is thrilled to learn that Kat's mother is Natasha Willis, the Company's Principal dancer and her childhood idol. Sammy's girlfriend, Mia, also arrives forcing Sammy to evaluate his growing feelings for Abigail.

It is school camp time and Tara is ostracised by her friends and further humiliated when photos of her and Christian kissing keep appearing everywhere. Tensions culminate in a fight between Kat and Tara, and both girls learn the hard way that friendship is more important than boys.

When Tara's crush on Ethan threatens to derail her friendship with Kat, Sammy gets her to write a pros and cons list to clear her head. As the roommate war escalates, Abigail wins a decisive victory - emailing Tara's list to the whole school. Christian finds himself in the custody of the police and, with nowhere else to go, has to accept his place at the Academy.

When the Board decides to cut hip hop and jazz from the curriculum Kat goes on the warpath, blaming her mother for this change. Tara and Christian find themselves together at the beach and their spark is rekindled, so much so that they lose track of time and are running late for the Patron's Showcase performance when Tara trips and badly injures herself.

Christian's best mate Aaron comes to stay and reveals the truth about the robbery they committed. Later, Aaron uses Christian as an alibi forcing Christian to lie to the police, and to question whether old friends are necessarily good friends. Meanwhile, Abigail's control issues are spiralling out-of-control and she is caught shoplifting.

Rehearsals for The Nutcracker are underway. Tara is playing the role of Clara and quickly discovers that being the star is not all its cracked up to be as Abigail's claws re-emerge. Sammy is forced to admit that his feelings for Christian have moved beyond that of just friendship and Myles Kelly returns to rescue Kat from the costume dungeon where she has been exiled since walking out of her audition.

Tara returns from the holidays excited to have been awarded the first year scholarship. However, this soon turns to disappointment when Kat leaves her standing alone outside a warehouse party the night before their first ballet class. Abigail is trying to be a perfect patient in her therapy sessions but has to ask for help in order to start tackling the real issues behind her eating disorder.

Pressure is building at the Academy as the students prepare for exams. Tara tries to ignore her recent "almost-pash" with Ethan in an attempt to stay focused. With her sights set on the first year scholarship, Abigail pushes herself too far and severely restricts her eating.