A superb coming-of-age film will always stand the test of time, regardless of the year. Filmmakers may transport us to many planets, eras, and show us astonishing ideas. Although green screens and studio sets are a fixture for most movies, almost any audience will be able to tell whether a school is a set, therefore many educational institutions have served as supporting players in some amazing films throughout the years. See which made the cut…
The 10 Most Iconic School Sets In Movies And TV
’21 Jump Street’ – West Jefferson High School
In this hilarious recreation of a vintage 1980s criminal comedy, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill appeared as two undercover cops who must recreate their high school years in order to stop the creation of a new synthetic drug. This was filmed in Harvey, Louisiana’s West Jefferson High School.
’21 Jump Street’ West Jefferson High School
‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ – Torrance High School
The majority of the first few seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer are set at Sunnydale High in Torrance, California, before it (spoiler alert) blows up during their graduation. This school, where Buffy and her allies frequently engage in demon and vampire battles, is also renowned for housing a fairly great library that doubles as a base for vampire hunting.
‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Torrance High School
‘High School Musical’ – East High School
This high school in Salt Lake City, Utah, gained notoriety in 2006 when it was used as the primary setting for the Disney smash High School Musical and as a secondary setting for both of its sequels. The cafeteria, gym, and classrooms were all extensively utilized in the films’ song and dance sequences.
‘High School Musical’ East High School
‘School Of Rock’ – Wagner College
While Jack Black and the children portraying prep school students he molds into a band provide most of the entertainment in this musical comedy movie, the Staten Island campus of Wagner College serves as a credible backdrop for the stuffy milieu he infiltrates as a fraudulent substitute instructor.
‘School Of Rock’ Wagner College
‘Fast Times At Ridgemont High’ – Van Nuys High School
This wild ensemble comedy, written by Cameron Crowe and directed by Amy Heckerling, was filmed at Van Nuys High School in Los Angeles. Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage, who was then known as Nicolas Coppola, both gave early performances in it (yes, that Coppola).
‘Fast Times At Ridgemont High’ Van Nuys High School
‘Sky High’ – California State University, Northridge
In the enjoyable superhero coming-of-age movie Sky High, a high school that trains both heroes and sidekicks is located thousands of feet in the air. Unfortunately, the Oviatt Library at California State University, Northridge, where the exteriors were photographed, does not actually have antigravity characteristics.
‘Sky High’ California State University, Northridge
‘The Breakfast Club’ – Maine North High School
It’s interesting to note that the major location of this iconic high school movie was a built set. After Maine North High School in Illinois closed in 1981, John Hughes constructed the library set in the school’s gym and used its entryway for the detention dropoff and departure scenes.
The movie’s hallways featured some that were filmed at Hughes’ own school, Glenbrook North High.
‘The Breakfast Club’ Maine North High School
‘Grease’ – Venice High School
The outside of the iconic love musical Grease was filmed at Venice High School in, you guessed it, Venice, so Los Angeles truly does seem to have a ton of picturesque high school campuses. Instead, Huntington Park High School served as the backdrop for the interior scenes of the film, including the dance at the school.
‘Grease’ Venice High School
‘Freaks and Geeks’ – Ulysses S. Grant High School
In this dramedy series, Paul Feig used Los Angeles as a stand-in for suburban Detroit and filmed at both William S. Hart and Ulysses S. Grant High Schools. Even if most of the scenes took place outside of class or on the bleachers to escape the stifling atmosphere of high school, the setting was still crucial to the success of this narrative.
