Coral Walker is a Deputy Headteacher at Waterloo Road High School who serves alongside Joe Casey and also serves as Head of English and the Sign Language Co-ordinator.
Series 11[]
Coral has Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and pays very close attention to hygiene.
She also appears to have anger management issues, as on the first day of term she shouts at a car beeping at her, and while doing so accidentally hits the accelerator causing her to bump into the car ahead of her, which in turn jolts forward and knocks over Chlo Charles. Insisting that it was an accident, Coral is relieved to find out that Chlo did not suffer any major injuries. However, after Chlo dies unexpectedly from a head injury and the police open an inquiry into the cause of her death, Coral starts to feel guilty. Although the inquest cannot point to a single cause of death, Coral breaks down and confesses to Kim after feeling that she was the one who killed her, and when Donte Charles learns of this, he smashes her car windows with a hammer in anger. She later attempts to resign, not wanting to punish Donte and his daughter Izzy with her presence at school.
Coral opposed the students' campaign to have the school renamed due to the racism their namesake William Berwick was associated with, saying to Valerie that she feels as though she can't say anything without being "accused of white privilege".
Coral is surprised to find out that Amy Spratt, who splattered her car with red paint during the riot on the first day, is an ECT working in her department, and chastises her for teaching her Year 9 pupils about the history of tattoos as an icebreaker instead of the regular syllabus. She also questions if Amy volunteered to be the point of contact for Izzy Charles after her return to school because she felt guilty about not doing enough to help Chlo, which is one of many belittling comments Coral makes towards Amy at the start of Series 11 as a way of projecting because of her own guilt over Chlo's death. Amy and Coral eventually become friends after Coral confesses everything.
At one point Coral is accidentally locked in the kitchen freezer by Nicky Walters after she breaks the door handle. It is only with the assistance of Donte that Coral is able to get out.
At the end of Series 11, Coral announces that she intends to resign at the end of term, but she is still at the school in Series 12.
Series 12[]
Coral doesn't really have any storylines in Series 12, though she does help Amy to get over her embarrassment after she forgets her mic is on and accidentally broadcasts to the students about getting into Donte's bed naked.
Coral also gives relationship advice to Kelly Jo Rafferty after Kelly Jo asks her how long one should be in a relationship for before saying "I love you".
Series 13[]
In Series 13, Dean Weever and Noel McManus create a fake social media profile in Coral's name and use it to catfish Neil Guthrie, making him think that he and Coral are chatting each other up online. After Dean and Noel send Neil a picture of Dean's feet pretending they are Coral's, Neil confronts Coral in-person at school and she reveals that it was not her.
After catching Dean and Noel out, Neil and Coral end up beginning an actual relationship, which soon hits the rocks after Neil's daughter Libby unexpectedly arrives from New Zealand and tries to split them up by lying to Coral that Neil had said that their relationship was just a bit of fun and nothing serious, but Neil and Coral soon patch things up.
Later in the series, Libby uses Coral's laptop to steal money from a charity that was set up in Chlo's name. After initially suspecting Amy, Coral discovers that it was Libby after finding out that the stolen money was sent to a New Zealand-registered account. Libby initially persuades Coral not to tell Neil, but after Neil finds a leaflet about the morning-after pill in Coral's bag after Coral helps Libby to get the pill after Libby sleeps with Dean, Coral decides that she wants no more lies with Neil and tells Libby that she is going to tell him about the stolen money. To stop her, Libby throws herself down the stairs and lies to everyone that Coral pushed her, and Coral is suspended. Coral is later exonerated after Amy exposes Libby's web of lies.
Series 14[]
In Series 14 Episode 1, Coral is among the staff who react with dismay when now-acting headteacher Joe brings them into the new "staffroom", a tiny cupboard-like space with no seating, and tells them that the large fully-furnished staffroom that they saw when they first came to the new building is being refurbished into a charging hub for the students' tablets.
When Amy lets slip to the staff that Joe offered to bump up her salary with a TLR payment, there is uproar and Joe is soon accused of cronyism. He abates the staff by telling them that all of them are being offered these payments, but later has to tell them that it is not viable as the school is already way over budget.
There is further uproar among the staff when Joe suspends Neil for restraining Dean on the floor after Dean tried to punch him. As the staff protest at Joe again, he escapes into a lift, which promptly gets stuck between floors. Neil sarcastically labels this a 'serious access issue', and Coral and the rest of the staff close the school 'for safety' and walk out, leaving Joe stuck in the lift. Steve Savage later chastises them all in the pub for contravening their conditions of service by allowing the children to go home without authorisation, and encourages them to find a peaceful resolution.
In Episode 2, Coral reveals she is going for the co-deputy head position that has opened up following the departure of Lindon King. She is dismayed to discover that Neil is also going for the position, and their relationship hits yet another rocky patch as they engage in some point-scoring reviewing of each other's lessons, but ultimately, after some home truths from Amy, Neil changes his stance and fully endorses Coral for deputy head, leaving her overwhelmed with emotion.
In Episode 3, Coral finds a new opponent in the race for the deputy head role in new maths teacher Nisha Chandra, who is lazily only going for the role for the reduced lesson timetable. When a parent threatens to complain to Ofsted about Neil insulting her son, Coral pretends to be deputy head in an attempt to portray herself as a respected authority figure. In Nisha's presence, she is forced to take a hard line with Neil and suggests he takes part in restorative justice. Newly-appointed headteacher Steve is impressed by Coral's initiative, and she gets the deputy head job.
In Episode 5, Waterloo Road takes on a load of deaf students following the closure of St Jude's School for the Deaf, and Coral is tasked with leading their integration. Things begin to go wrong from the start when St Jude's teacher Gill, who was supposed to be running sessions with the staff and the pupils to help the deaf kids settle in at Waterloo Road, calls in sick, leaving Waterloo Road with no option but to throw the deaf kids in at the deep end in classes with the hearing kids, with only their community support workers (CSWs) and radio aids to help them.
Completely deaf pupil Luca Smith particularly struggles to settle in, especially when he is assigned a CSW who is unqualified in sign language and his radio aid does not help him at all. He becomes overwhelmed and attempts to escape from school grounds, but Coral catches up with him and talks him down, impressing him with her rudimentary signing skills, explaining that she had a deaf cousin called Angela when she was growing up, but they have since lost contact. Coral persuades Steve not to punish Luca for his disruption, and explains to him that should he decide to stay at Waterloo Road, he will start the next day with a clean slate.
Series 15[]
Trivia[]
- According to the BBC press release for Series 11, Coral has taught at the school for three years.
Quotes[]
- "What the hell?! What the hell - was that you?" (first line)
- "Word of caution, my love. Break the ice too often, and you'll end up in nothing but a puddle of cack. Well done, though, see you tomorrow."
- "If I was looking at anyone, I'd be looking at the one who nicely bandaged her arm instead of calling for an ambulance, but, that's just me."
- "Oh I heard. And you don't need to worry about your job. As far as I'm concerned, you have already lost it." (while locked in the walk-in freezer accidentally by Nicky)
- "If I was as desperate to be liked as you, I'da packed it in years ago. This job is going to spit you out."
- "You don't know, you don't know me, I have killed someone. I lied. I lied to everyone, to the police, to Donte. But the truth is, Chlo Charles is dead because I lost my temper."
- "For what it's worth, I've given years to this. And if I'm not Miss Walker...I'm nobody."
- Dean: "Don't I normally get detention at this point, Miss?"
- Coral: "You can have one if you want one."
- Coral: "Look, the way I see it, you have got two options. One - you go out there and you ride the storm."
- Amy: "I'll take option two."
- Coral: "I lied, there is no option two."
- "From the divorcee who pretended his wife was dead? Coming from an actual woman, my advice is...men who like the chase, aren't always the best catch."
- "Drama teacher for a housemate? Oho! Do let me know how that goes."
- "Well, I can think of a huge pro. Maybe we can get back to the nuts and bolts, and not have children missing classes to do peer mentoring, and all the other touchy-feely nonsense."
- "Don't ever talk to me again, you gutless lying weasel!"
- "Oh come on, Lindon. I get what you're trying to do, but are you surprised? Investing in kids like Kelly Jo is a high-risk strategy."
- "But they are symptoms of the same disease. Children like the Weever boy know exactly how to play the system, which buttons to press, how hard to press them, whilst we have to take it grinning like idiots!"
- Coral: "Oh, is that what you were doing when you stole money from the charity's account?"
- Libby: "Me?"
- Coral: "Don't even bother! The money was sent to an account set up in New Zealand, and you've had access to my laptop! I know it was you!"
- "But I've got form. I lied about Chlo's accident. When I saw Libby lying there, it brought it all back."
- Joe: "The priority is making today a positive transition."
- Coral: "The power's gone to his head."
- "Can't just be me shortlisted for the uh, co-deputy head role? No?"
- "You can wiggle about in that very tight skirt as much as you want, but this job is mine."
- Joe: "Careful what you wish for. Right, this? It's not an easy job."
- Coral: "Well, you manage it, how hard can it be? Well, I say you manage it - you didn't really cope with the headship, did you? Sorry. I can be a right cow when I'm nervous."
- Joe: "Yeah. You nervous every day?"
- Joe: "I mean, the signs just came flying outta you. You're like a ninja. Where did you learn to...?"
- Coral: "Uh, someone I...knew once. I might just look 'em up."