Filming on location adds authenticity to movie and television sets. It’s easy to act like you are in school if you are in an actual location of learning. The vibes are just right.
This is why oftentimes productions choose real-life institutions to serve as backdrops to their storytelling. The 10 schools on this list are famous in their own right. Some have even hosted multiple casts and crews.
Torrance High School
If the hallways of Torrance High School could talk, they would have so much behind the scenes gossip. This school in Torrance, California, has been the backdrop for multiple TV shows and movies. It saw Rachel Leigh Cook transform from nerd to hottie in the 1999 teen romantic comedy She’s All That. Buffy Summers and her gang protected the world from evil while attending classes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Brenda and Brandon Walsh realized they weren’t in Minneapolis anymore when attending high school in Beverly Hills, 90210.
Occidental College
As if! The classic 1995 teen comedy Clueless used Occidental College in Los Angeles as Bronson Alcott High School. This is the learning institution that Cher Horowitz, played by Alicia Silverstone, and best friend Dionne Davenport, played by Stacey Dash, attend. New girl Tai Frasier, played by the late Brittany Murphy, transfers in and Cher tries to play matchmaker. This story is loosely based on the Jane Austen classic novel Emma.
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The Nightingale-Bamford School
Let's spill the tea, Upper East Siders. The dark secret students of Constance Billard School for Girls is they actually use two locations when filming Gossip Girl. The exterior shots of the school are filmed at the Museum of the City of New York. The interior shots take place at the Nightingale-Bamford School in Manhattan, which is the school the author of the source material novel series attended in real life.
Mount St. Mary's College
Bust out the sunscreen. We are traveling to sunny Southern California for this school. Mount St. Mary's College is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, but it served as The Harbor School in the hit teen drama The O.C.
Another school featured on the series was Newport Union High School. Marissa attends the public school after getting kicked out of Harbor. Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach was the filming location for these scenes.
Venice High School and Huntington Park High School
The 1978 hit movie musical Grease filmed exterior shots at both Venice High School and Huntington Park High School in California. This is where we learned all about the boy Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson, played by Olivia Newton-John, fell for over the summer. The final carnival scene was filmed at John Marshall High School.
John Marshall High School
Speaking of John Marshall High School, this location really gets around. It was built in 1931 and sits in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. It served as the backdrop for Pretty in Pink, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Grosse Pointe Blank. When Hollywood finds a good thing, they don't want to change it up.
Niles East High School and Niles North High School
Another Molly Ringwald classic is Sixteen Candles, which came out in 1984. Molly plays Samantha "Sam" Baker, a freshman at Shermer High School in Chicago. Director John Hughes used Niles East High School in a Chicago suburb as the main shooting location for the film and many of his other high school flicks. It has since been torn down and rebuilt as a community college. Niles North High School, its sister school, was used for the big dance.
Kalama High School and Madison High School
Bella Swan and Edward Cullen attended Forks High in the Twilight movies. Two real-life high schools were used as filming locations. Kalama High School in Kalama, Washington, was used for most of the exterior shots including the parking lot scenes. Madison High School in Portland, Oregon, was used for interior shots – surprisingly, because it had better natural light, which vampires try to avoid but looks pretty on film. This school had the classroom where Bella and Edward were forced to be lab partners.
Alnwick Castle
Alnwick Castle is located in Northumberland, England. It became a magical place in 2000 when it was used as Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, learned to use a broom while there. He also crashed a flying car with his best friend Ron Weasley, played by Rupert Grint, but he's trying to forget that part.
Christ Church College
Christ Church College in Oxford also provided filming locations for Harry Potter and served as Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall greeted Harry, Ron and the other new first-year students on a staircase there. Hermione told Harry about his dad's Quidditch trophy in the hallway. Beyond a filming location, Tudor Hall offered inspiration. The Great Hall was not filmed on location but was modeled after it. A magical replica version was built at Leavesden Film Studios.
