 Miss Cackle decides it s time to upgrade the school s alarm system and Mr. Blossom, the handyman, has concocted a wonderful contraption with levers and pulleys all around the school. It is not wholly reliable and inevitable false alarms ensue. Meanwhile, the girls are learning finger sparks to enhance the effect of Spells with Miss Hardbroom. Of course Ethel delicately zaps away one pine cone, while Mildred puts a hole in the cupboard door. Not all the Hallows are at the top of the class though, as Sybil fails her broomstick flying test. Mildred tries to make her feel more comfortable, but for some reason, she always seems to say the wrong thing. Things work themselves out though, when there is a genuine emergency in the school - created of course by Ethel and Drusilla - Mildred rises to the occasion, helped by her use of an overactive spell. She manages to save Sybil from a perilous situation and is awarded Cackle s Academy Medal for bravery.