Jeremy Brown starts his new job as a teacher of English as a foreign language and meets his students for the first time, a diverse group of ten adults in London, hailing from nine different countries in Europe and Asia.

An inspector from the local education authority arrives at the school to observe the classes, but Mr Brown mistakes him for a new student.

Ranjeet asks Mr Brown and the rest of the class to help him escape an arranged marriage with Surinder, the daughter of his father’s best friend.

Upset that his students’ English is not improving, especially in the presence of Miss Courtney who leaves disappointed, Mr Brown keeps them after class, to the extent that they get locked in the building.

Jamila is arrested for shoplifting a magazine due to her misunderstanding of the word 'free' in promotional material...

It is Mr Brown’s birthday, and everyone in the class has brought him a present - but it is not all happy returns when Miss Courtney informs him that his trial month is over and dismisses him, replacing him with a new teacher.

In order to see how prepared they are for their upcoming exam, the students prepare to take a mock exam, failing miserably and angering Mr Brown. Seeing that their teacher has no faith in them, they decide to cheat!

Celebrations as Ali and Su-Lee announce that they are to marry... but he already has a wife!

Poor Jeremy is sick with the flu, so his class decide to pay him a visit hoping to cheer him up.

Juan brings his Russian sailor friend Boris to class, explaining that he wants to defect and stay in England, having fallen love with a girl he just met.

Mr Brown finds himself in a lot of trouble when Danielle tells Mr Jarvis, a pestering woodwork teacher at the school, that she is engaged to her English teacher.

Could it be that Sid the Janitor is Jeremy's father ?

The students prepare to take their Lower Cambridge Certificate exam at the end of the first term. Meanwhile, Mr Brown has a disagreement with a couple in the pub, which comes back to haunt him when it turns out that the man (Mr Short, a former principal of the school) will be supervising the exam.

At the start of the new school year, Mr Brown has two new students, Zoltán Szabo from Hungary and Swedish au pair, Ingrid Svenson.

It is announced that the Queen will be visiting the school, and Miss Courtney gets excited about the event, to the extent that the school is redecorated and the EFL students wear their national costumes.

Miss Courtney's former fiancé returns, but are his intentions entirely honourable ?

Sid can't believe his luck. Just when he was hard up for cash, he finds lots of it. The only problem is Ranjeet is the one who lost it...

A road trip is planned for the class, but nothing goes according to plan.

Jeremy's flat is being redecorated so Giovanni and Max invite him to spend the night at their place.

Jeremy is talked into buying two tickets to the Ladies Circle Dance.

The time has come for the Annual College Concert. What kind of a performance will the English class give ?

All the students return except for Ingrid and Zoltan, who has left for Hungary. Soon after, an affluent Arab Sheikh enrols his Scottish chauffeur in Mr Brown's class, due to not being able to understand his accent. But the Glaswegian man causes trouble due to his obnoxious, hostile and confrontational attitude.

Au pair Danielle brings her boss' baby to school, but she leaves him in the canteen and he goes missing.

Mr Brown takes Juan to hospital, suffering from a stomach ache, but a fall causes him to be admitted as a patient, instead.

Mr Brown receives an offer of a higher paid position at another school.

All the students are brought to court for causing various acts of mischief at different places in London. Miss Courtney oversees the session as one of the magistrates, while Mr Brown acts as their barrister.

Anna's visa is about to expire so her friends suggest that she marry Mr Brown in order to become a British citizen.

The school holds a fete, and Max is responsible for hiring celebrity, Arthur Mullard, to open the events.

When Ali suspects that his wife is having an affair, Mr Brown takes matters into his own hands...