Tensions and recriminations begin to run high at the school among the staff, while Sarah Burton looks at the possibility of laying off a couple of the staff. Agnes Sigglesthwaite, the oldest and longest serving there, lacks discipline in her class but surprises Sarah with her life story and past history. But Midge Carne has plans with the girls for a little game of her own that threaten Agnes' career. South Riding holds the annual fete, where Robert Carne hopes to win the show jumping cup for another year, while Sarah meets the enigmatic Anthony Snaith for the very first time.