If elevenyearold Ferg Gottin had been bought from a store, his parents would have returned him and demanded a refund. Because, you see, for the Gottins, parenting is an experiment gone badly wrong. So when they find a school where you can dump your kids and forget about them, they decide that Horrid High is the perfect place for Ferg. But there's nothing perfect about Horrid High—it's quite unlike the boarding schools Ferg has read about in storybooks. Ferg soon realizes that this isn't just a school for orphans, runaways and rejects. Horrid High is a training ground for horrid teachers who are being sent out into the world to spread horridness! If that's not enough, Principal Perverse has a Grand Plan that he plans to reveal to every horrid teacher everywhere. Ferg and his friends are the only hope that the children of the world now have. Will they manage to save the day? Open the gates of Horrid High and find out!