The sweetness of summer days is heightened by the knowledge that September will roll around eventually.
In the interests of putting off reality, let’s imagine the upcoming school year will be filled with great adventures or awesome laughs with our favourite student bodies.
Related: 29 TV Children Who Are Wiser Than Their Years
Whether your interests lie in artistic pursuits, politcal savvy, or just surviving Science class with the teacher who could literally rip your head off (after mating with you), we’re sure you’ll find a school to your liking on this list!
So what would you sign up for? A California party school? An institution with a Dean’s List for Hijinks?
Are you more intent on magical mischief or perfecting your tan lines?
Sunnydale High — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Taking the metaphor of “High school is Hell” quite literally, the Scooby Gang was hard-pressed at times to survive their fellow classmates and the faculty, either which could easily prove deadly come exam season. And when the graduation ceremony includes the principal getting eaten by the Mayor in giant serpent form, let’s just say yearbook-signing was kind of awkward.
Hawkins High School — Stranger Things
Considering the things that go on in Hawkins — experimental labs, gateways to the Upside-Down, demigorgans, etc. — the angst and agony of high school should really be the least of the residents’ concerns. Seriously, just focus on the next Tigers’ basketball game and have a New Coke.
Cackle’s Academy — The Worst Witch
The wonderfully-named Cackle’s Academy trains up the next generation of witches from a wide variety of backgrounds. Enter Mildred Hubble, the first magic-wielder in her family in thirteen generations, a situation bound to fill the halls with excitement and the classrooms with… frogs?
WizTech — Wizards of Waverley Place
Despite the unusual commute of having to travel to the Wizard World, WizTech seems to have the perfect curriculum for the magically-talented. The very fact it offers summer school options really speaks to its interest in including wizards from all walks of life.
Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy — The Magicians
The premier institution for the study of magical practices is so secret that you don’t even know you’re applying until you’re invited to write the entrance exam. And if you fail the exam, you’ll never even remember writing it. Handy way to deal with disappointed rejects, I guess.
Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted — Legacies
The Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted is unusual in the fact that although it is the primary setting for Legacies, it appears in both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals as well. As such, it is a touchstone and haven for characters from all three shows. A school that actively magically protects its students (often from each other), its lessons are both enlightening AND practical.
Riverdale High — Riverdale
It’s not the pristine and cheerful blue and gold alma mater of the comic books but its dark side has been fascinating, if totally insane, to explore. I, for one, will never think about Ms. Grundy the same way ever again.
King’s Dominion — Deadly Class
I’m still pretty foggy on how exactly this school recruits its student body. However, whatever way you get there, it’s definitely not an establishment for slackers. Stay on your toes… or you’ll probably lose them and a whole lot more.
Whitlock High School — A.P. Bio
Any school willing to hire a disenchanted and disgraced philosophy scholar to not-teach their best and brightest… well, that just might be any school these days. In any case, Mr. Griffin’s assignments are definitely educating these grade-grinds on outside-the-box-thinking… Meanwhile, Principal Durbin? You just keep on keepin’ on, sir.
Earth Space Fleet Training Academy — Pandora
It’s not exactly Starfleet (even if some people think that was what the CW was going for) but it does have a hugely diverse student body — humans, clones, aliens, oh my! — and campus security is distractable enough that joy-riding to another planet for a few hours is an extra-curricular option.
North Jackson High School — Vice Principals
If a house divided cannot stand, North Jackson High School really should’ve imploded in a nuclear-level event the moment co-vice-principals Lee Russell and Neal Gamby were forced to work together.
William McKinley High School — Glee
William McKinley gets a lot of TV schools named after him. The first on our list began with a fierce feud waged between the underdog New Directions show choir and the hard-edged cheerleader squad in Lima, Ohio. Over six seasons, we sang along with their challenges and successes as the characters grew and evolved into multi-faceted individuals of great diversity.
Tree Hill High School — One Tree Hill
Although its nine seasons carried its main characters pretty far into adulthood, all the drama started for us in the halls and on the basketball court of Tree Hill High School. Whether it was developing a relationship with a half-sibling, recovering from a car wreck, or rebuilding a life after a bout with addiction, having a home like Tree Hill made all the difference.
Liberty High School — My So-Called Life
Angela Chase and her fellow Liberty Pirates had a short time — not a good time necessarily — to examine the social issues facing teens in realistic and gritty detail. With Chase’s commentary and Tino’s reassuring presence, the series rose to critical glory if not the heights of renewal.
Constance Billard/St. Jude’s Prep — Gossip Girl
As one of the most exclusive schools in Manhattan, secrets and speculation are the currency and stimulation the children of the rich and powerful crave. With the Gossip Girl website leading the way, the Waldorfs, Humphreys, and van der Woodsens take us on a whirlwind tour of how the truly elite live and learn.
Chilton Preparatory School — Gilmore Girls
While all her friends got to stay home and attend Stars Hollow High School, Rory Gilmore is accepted to nearby (but very expensive) Chilton Preparatory School. This proves to be a life-changer for both her and her mother. Rory has to contend with an academically (and aggressively) competitive peer group. Meanwhile, Lorelai is expected to step into the demanding position of a “Chilton parent” and has to contend with the likes of legacy Puffs and patronizing administrators.
Degrassi High
Now, THIS is a school with history, continuity, and character. A Canadian grassroots franchise, Degrassi began with the Kids of Degrassi Street (1979-86) and followed them (almost perfectly in real-time) through the halls of Degrassi Junior High (1987-89) and, eventually, Degrassi High. Emma, the baby born to Grade 10 student, “Spike” Nelson, at the end of Degrassi Junior High Season 2 becomes the central character in a return to Degrassi with Degrassi: the Next Generation which lasted fourteen seasons (2001-15) and yet ANOTHER generation is represented on Netflix’s Degrassi: Next Class (2016-17).
Millard Fillmore High School — Head of the Class
Over-achievers, rejoice! There was one class in Millard Fillmore where intelligence didn’t guarantee a wedgy-attack during the lunch-hour. The IHP crew was headed by cooler-than-cool teacher, Charlie “Johnny Fever” Moore and dealt with a range of issues, from academic to personal to musical even.
James Buchanan High School — Welcome Back, Kotter
Like a wise-cracking mirror image of Head of the Class’s IHP crew, the Sweathogs of James Buchanan High School may well be most people’s O.G. television high school experience. With a caring teacher interested in inspiring a class of students other teachers had given up on, this was a ground-breaking venture by ABC in the racially tense times of the late 70s.
Carver High School — The White Shadow
Despite its loser reputation and impoverished reality, Carver High School had a lot to smile about. Their ex-NBA basketball coach, Ken Reeves, is determined to make something of the team no matter how discouraging the administration might be. At the same time, the humor with which they tackle social issues makes a hard life that much more manageable. As the saying goes,”You can’t beat Carver!”
Polk High — Married With Children
There are those who peak in life early and then there’s Al Bundy whose greatest personal achievement will always remain scoring four touchdowns in a single game for the Polk High Panthers. Not sure how Kelly and Bud survived in the shadow of that accomplishment but somehow they found their paths too.
Breaker High
High school students on a cruise ship. How many ways could this go sideways? Well, with the likes of Sean (a baby-faced Ryan Gosling) and Jimmy stirring the pot, there’ll never be a dull moment, that’s for sho!
Bayside High — Saved By The Bell
When you wake up in the morning and the alarm gives out a warning and you don’t think you’ll ever make it on time… this is the school for you. Where your biggest rivals are also your best friends, Bayside is as neon-colored wholesome as they come.
William McKinley High School — Freaks and Geeks
The second William McKinley High School we have here is in Chippewa, Michigan where Lindsey Weir’s “Freak”y slacker crowd and her brother Sam’s geek squad contend with all the crazy-making shenanigans that reinventing yourself in high school involves.
John Adams High — Boy Meets World
It’s a cozy high school where all the hallways look amazingly similar and one teacher seems to teach everyone. There’s also the question of what happens on the mysterious “other side” of the school, through the fourth wall as it were.
Dillon High School — Friday Night Lights
Before the town of Dillon got too big for just one high school, its high school was everything to the town and football was everything to its high school. The Dillon Panthers may have faced other teams on the field but they had to face many other obstacles in their hallways, homes, and town.
Neptune High — Veronica Mars
The only high school in the town with “no middle class” (as described on Veronica Mars Season 1 Episode 1), the Nancy Drew-like adventures of the title character reveal a dark and sordid underbelly to the lives of the rich, entitled A-listers and those who try to run with them.
Medford High — Young Sheldon
There’s something endearing about a faculty that survives the experience of having a young Sheldon Cooper enrolled. Despite their exasperation, they’re never hurtful to the clueless child with the ridiculous IQ. Bless their hearts, some of them even think they can teach him something.
Beverly Hills High School — All American
To be recruited by the posh, cross-town rival high school is a mixed bag of blessings for football star, Spencer James. From the gang-influenced South L.A. high school halls to the more insidious politics of Beverly Hills High School, Spencer’s learning to run plays on and off the field.
Auradon Prep — Descendants
Originally a boarding school exclusively for the children of heroes, Auradon Prep has recently been opened to those of villainous ancestry as well. The school’s motto is “Goodness doesn’t get any better” but with classes in its brochure like “Remedial Goodness” it’s clear that improvement is possible.
Baxter High — The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Although less prestigious than the Academy of Unseen Arts, Baxter High is a perfectly serviceable school for the general populace of Greendale. It’s also got a pretty good football team.
Las Encinas — Elite
An exclusive Spanish school where a killer instinct is required, Las Encinas has students and staff with secrets to hide. When three working-class students arrive on scholarship, things get messy in a hurry.
West Beverly Hills High School — Beverly Hills 90210
The backdrop for the most privileged 90s version of the Brat Pack, West Beverly Hills High had it all — a newspaper, its own DJ, a time capsule… and every bit of angst and social drama a teen could hope for in the California sunshine.
Coal Hill School — Doctor Who
Probably the longest-running television school in existence, Coal Hill School appeared on the first television episode of Doctor Who in November of 1963. Through the decades, it has been the site of alien confrontations, romantic interludes, interdimensional portals, and even employed the Twelfth Doctor as its custodian for a time.
McKinley High School — Wonder Years
Located smack-dab in Anytown, USA, our third McKinley High bore witness to the many adventures and adversities faced by Kevin Arnold and his friends as narrated by Future Kevin. Coming of age stories came of age in the halls of this McKinley High.
Smallville High School — Smallville
A high school housing the future members of the Justice League (as well not a few of their villainous adversaries) is bound to be an interesting place to study algebra.
Palos Hills High School — Awkward
If a girl’s got to reinvent herself in the glaring spotlight of being thought to be suicidal, Palos Hills High School might be the best place she could choose. With equally awkward friends backing her up, Jenna steps up to the challenge of being seen and doesn’t look back.
Boston Common
Not sure how long a college would last with administrators like Boyd Pritchett at the helm but man, would it be a fun ride while it lasted…
Winslow High School — Boston Public
From the brain of David E. Kelley, Winslow High School was fertile ground for the stories of its teachers, students, and administrators. With a slogan like,”Every day is a fight. For respect. For dignity. For sanity,’ it’s not going to be the most light-hearted of educations but, boy, will you learn.
Thomas Tupper High — Clarissa Explains It All
Although she seemed to spend the majority of her time in her bedroom, Clarissa DID actually get an education as well. Also, it was probably nice to be able to interact with Sam without him having to climb through her window.
Capeside High — Dawson’s Creek
Another small-town high school with all the big feelings, the dramatic adventures of Dawson, Joey, Pacey, and Jen would quickly become the lives more real than real life for a generation of TV watchers. Capeside was where so much of it went down and its halls probably still echo with the taboo sex-talk that got the show named the Worst Show on Television by the Parents Television Council in both 1997-8 and 1998-9 seasons.
Harbor High School — The O.C.
Ryan Atwood’s arrival in Newport Beach was probably as discombobulating as Dorothy’s infamous trip to Oz was. Harbor High School, the private school he attended with foster brother Seth was a far cry from his Chino, CA, public high school and his initial encounters with the “Newpsies” culture is not a smooth transition. However, it’s in the halls of Harbor High where he proves to his classmates and himself that he’s just as smart and talented as any of them.
Everwood High School — Everwood
Everwood High School is a microcosm of intense narratives. Between newcomer Ephram Brown’s musical talent and the repercussions of Starlord’s – I mean, Bright Abbott’s – drunken car accident before the start of the show, the quiet, idyllic town can’t seem to go a week without major shake-ups.
New York City High School for the Performing Arts — Fame
Before there was Glee, there was FAME. Based on the hit 1980 movie, the halls and classrooms of the New York City High School for the Performing Arts were alive with the songs and dance numbers of its students and faculty.
Ridgemont High — Fast Times
Another high school TV show spawned from a film — 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High — Fast Times went FAST. Only seven episodes aired in 1986. But Spicoli and gang will always be slacking off in our fond memories.
Bel Air Academy — The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Besides Aunt Viv’s guest lecturer day on African-American history, we don’t know much about the course offerings at Bel Air Academy. However, I could imagine a dance and movement course taught by Carlton or Hillary’s seminar series on Shopping for Style would have hella long waitlists.
Beacon Hills High — Teen Wolf
Might be a bit hard to concentrate on calculus equations with half your classmates turning into werewolves on a monthly basis but somehow the student body of Beacon Hills manages to soldier on. Mind you, not without a considerable body count.
Madison High School — Our Miss Brooks
In 1952, for a television show to star a woman who had a job, a sense of humor, and realistic relationships was unheard of. With the success of Our Miss Brooks making the leap from radio to TV, that all changed. Connie Brooks was a single, self-reliant English teacher and the students and staff of Madison High School benefited from her sardonic and down-to-earth nature.
Central High School — The Many Loves of Dobie GIllis
Just before taking that ill-fated three-hour tour, Bob Denver played the beatnik sidekick for several seasons to the titular girl-crazy and hopeless dreamer, Dobie Gillis. They attended Central High, a squeaky-clean Midwest school with an endless parade of girls for Dobie to fall in love with and exasperated teachers for garnish.
Jacqueline Kennedy High School — Popular
With a female student body that runs the popularity spectrum from cheerleader to … journalist (?? wth?) Jacqueline Kennedy High School has a distinct pecking order. When Queen Bee Brooke and mousy Sam suddenly face the reality of potentially becoming family, it’s not long before chaos is unleashed.
Mystic Falls High School — The Vampire Diaries
Location is everything in real estate and high schools are no exception. Much like Sunnydale High’s issues with being built on a Hellmouth, Mystic Falls High School is destined to be the premier site for supernatural confrontations due to the fact Mystic Falls is a town founded by immortals, werewolf gene carriers, and vampire hunters.
West Roswell High School — Roswell
It’s not unusual to feel out of place in high school but when you’re actually from outer space, things get a might be trickier. When Max, Isabel, and Michael turn out to not only be aliens but ROYAL aliens, grades and homecoming suddenly seem a lot less important.
Roundview College — Skins (UK)
The best selling point Roundview College has is probably that it’s a school where you can really be yourself whether you’re a student or a teacher. That means all sorts of shenanigans in terms of relationships and drugs as well as addressing tougher aspects of life like mental illness and bullying. And in case you’re wondering, in the UK, “college” is the equivalent of high school!
Weemawee High School — Square Pegs
Weemawee High School may not have been much to look at but its student body was brimming with potential. From Sarah Jessica Parker’s awkward Patty Greene to Tracy Nelson’s popular Jennifer DiNuccio to Jami Gertz’s preppy Muffy B. Tepperman, Weemawee’s yearbook should’ve read like a 1980’s “Who’s Gonna Be a Star?”
Eastland School — The Facts of Life
Oh, to be a student in Peekskill, New York, and mothered by the wonderful Mrs. Garrett! What schoolgirl of the 1980s didn’t dream of that homey sort of boarding school life?
Castlebury High School — The Carrie Diaries
The staff and students of Castlebury High would have had no idea that they were interacting with the future “THE” Carrie Bradshaw but, as viewers and SITC fans, Castlebury was the PERFECT place to peek in on Carrie as she found herself in friends, fashion, and faux pas.
Lawndale High — Daria
Gotta be honest. Daria Morgendorffer was a personal hero of mine growing up. With buddy Jane Lane in tow, she was the O.G. of not giving a f*** in the high school halls and teenage life of Lawndale where being cute and popular was top priority for everyone else. Lawndale High, of the politically savvy principal and mandatory entrance psych evals, proved to be a testing ground for just how much Daria didn’t care for their plans for her.
