In episode one we meet three Year 9 girls facing the mounting pressure of their first year of GCSE preparation. For all three, so much of the journey is about confidence. In Port Talbot, avid reader and top-tier student Ann Marie knows she wants to go to university, but she suffers from anxiety around her exams. Meanwhile in Tamworth, Shakira's school recognises that she is a talented artist and tries to help her find her creative voice by pushing her out of her comfort zone. Confidence is less of an issue for Birmingham-based aspiring paediatrician Jada: her determination to ace her Year 9 exams is pinned on her dream of winning a future place at nearby Sixth Form grammar school. But however determined she and her mum are, money may halt her dream.
This episode features three bright 13-year-old boys on the cusp of adulthood and facing many uncertainties. Kian is a bright aspiring mathematician who keeps being told he has 'potential', which is causing him to worry about his future and feel pressure both at school and at home. His dad is determined for him to get out of Hartlepool, but this just adds to the weight of expectation. In Newcastle, Liam is on track to gain top science grades at GCSE, but his teachers worry the pressure he puts himself under at home may prevent him from fulfilling his aspirations. Meanwhile, problems at home threaten to derail talented London-based student Jamarley, but his family's determination to overcome adversity helps him through tough times.
Gifted boys Liam, Jamarley and Kian grapple with teenage life as they work out who they are and what they want to do, in the face of mounting pressure at school.
Gifted girls Jada, Anne-Marie and Shakira juggle the pressure of impending GCSEs in the face of unexpected events.
Along with the prospect of imminent GCSEs, the three gifted boys must make decisions about their futures. Kian dreams of becoming a theoretical physicist but has to face up to the reality of having to leave Hartlepool to pursue his dreams. In Newcastle, aspiring doctor Liam has grown used to being told he will do well, but his work ethic is increasingly under scrutiny and he has to work out what he really wants. Meanwhile, with knife crime on the rise in his part of London, Jamarley faces pressures outside school, as well as the distractions of making music when there is studying to get on with.
As the GCSE exams approach, the pressure of expectation looms large for the three Gifted girls. In Port Talbot, Anne Marie is more settled after moving in with her best friend, but isolation from her family and nerves about her exams are starting to trouble her. Would-be paediatricianJada has her heart set on taking her A-levels at grammar school, but she needs high grades to get in, and at home in Handsworth, her family’s cramped living conditions are still far from ideal. After her teenage rebellion and school exclusion last year, Tamworth-based Shakira has got to make up lost ground if she is to achieve the high grades in creative subjects that her teachers have predicted.