Top 10 Fictional Movie Schools

It’s your typical Texas high school – football rules and upperclassmen haze the freshman. Still, it’s a pretty cool place that even twenty-somethings like the iconic Wooderson want to hang around. This movie takes place on the last day of school, and as you can expect the giant parties ensue. But without the boundaries of school, the characters are able to socialize outside their assigned groups and think about what they really want in this coming-of-age story.

Max Fischer isn’t your typical nerd; but then again, Rushmore isn’t your typical private school either. Instead of being obsessed with his grades, Max focuses solely on the extracurricular activities his school has to offer, which is an extensive list to say the least. This place of higher learning is filled with quirky characters like headmaster Dr. Nelson Guggenheim and Herman Blume, the school’s eccentric benefactor. And the mood of the academy is perfected by Anderson’s curated soundtrack.

School can be a drag, but not if you have The Ramones come and take over! That’s exactly what happens at Vince Lombardi High after numerous principals try to ban rock ‘n’ roll and burn rock records at school. When the students revolt, things get interesting as The Ramones blast their signature punk tunes down the hallways. If more schools were this lively, we’re sure attendance rates would be higher.

Only at a school in Beverly Hills could you get outta gym class with the excuse that you just had plastic surgery. It’s the school for the rich and fabulous that Cher Horowitz pretty much rules. At Bronson Alcott everyone knows their place – the stoners sit in the grass and the Persian mafia hangs together. It’s also the only school where students reference Hamlet and use Valley speak in the same breath.

Though we never see school actually in session during this movie, it’s still pretty clear that Shermer is the most realistic school on our list. After a group of five high school stereotypes – “the brain,” “the jock,” “the princess,” “the criminal,” and “the weirdo” – end up in Saturday detention, they realize they’re more than their labels. This film defined what it was really like to be in high school, not the Hollywood version.

This movie tackles such teenage themes as paying for your first car, losing your virginity, and getting into college – otherwise known as the only things that really matter in high school. And, as the movie proves, the rest of high school is pretty much BS; but going to a school like Ridgemont makes it’s seem okay. Kind of unbelievable that Spicoli would graduate, but if there were more teachers like Mr. Hand, it could happen.

It’s pretty much the most All-American school out there. At Rydell, everyone lives out their teen dream fantasy of sock-hops, school carnivals, and giant bonfires at the spirit rallies. Besides being the ‘50s ideal, Rydell has the perfect division of the jocks and the greasers, the two groups immortalized in this tale of star-crossed lovers, Sandy and Danny. Oh, and everyone breaks out in song and knows the hand jive – but that’s only natural at a school this spirited.

It’s the party school of party schools! Set in the ‘60s, the film centers on two freshmen joining the Delta Tau Chi house and getting more than they bargained for when it comes to debauchery and hazing. Faber pretty much set everyone’s standard for what it means to have a great college experience, what with the booze, frat parties, and general tomfoolery that combine to make memorable friendships and nights you won’t remember.

Growing up, everyone feels like a freak at school. But who’s normal in a school where everyone’s different? Professor X’s institute is pretty much the only place a kid can go to learn algebra alongside combat and controlling your powers. And with faculty as badass at Wolverine and Storm, you’re never sure exactly what you’ll be learning. The school may be in constant danger, but it’s worth it.

Before the bell rings on our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Horace Green Preparatory School “School of Rock” (2003)
- Hill Valley High School “Back to the Future” franchise (1985-90)
- Padua High School “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999)
- Monsters University “Monsters University” (2013)

Come on now, who doesn’t want to go to Hogwarts? At this school of witchcraft and wizardry anything can happen; ghosts cry in the bathroom, trolls show up in the dungeon, and there are centaurs in the forest. In class you learn potions, at dinner food magically appears in front of you, and in your free time you make the best friends you’ll ever have. And let’s not forget the awesome professors and Quidditch. It’s pretty much the perfect school.

Do you agree with our list? Which fictional school would you wanna go to? For more spirited Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.