12 Fictional Schools That Make Yours Look Tame

It takes the special mind of an author to make going to school sound so fun. In both young adult and classic literature, there have been some schools that make us all wish we were back being incoming freshmen. Some of the schools train students for secret missions, others teach magic and wizardry, but some just have teachers we seriously wish were real.

I would seriously take back all the middle and high school drama and mean girls to be able to go to any one of these schools — even overlooking some of the motivations behind the school's goals, sinister as they may be. And believe me, some are seriously sinister. Now, I just can't decide if I want to be a witch, a wizard, or a mutant.

These 12 schools have the luckiest students in fiction.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Let's get this one out of the way first, because you knew it was coming. Everyone wants to go to Hogwarts. Let's all gather together and enroll, form a best friendship with Hermoine, join the Quiddich team, and become the most awesome damn wizards the school has ever seen. No offense, Harry. Plus, that is one epic campus.

Wayside School, Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Sure you have to put up with a lot of nonsense, but think of the memoir you could write about your educational experience with that cast of characters that surround you. At Wayside School, you never know what you're going to be faced with day by day, but that's part of the fun.

But make sure you don't accidentally end up in Miss Zarves class.

The School, Old School by Tobias Wolf

Tobias Wolf writes about a literary dream school any bookish type would love to attend in Old School. Literature is number one in this school, and English students cross paths with icons like Ernest Hemingway and Robert Frost, who offer their advice.

Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, X-Men Comics

What many of us wouldn't have done to be a gifted youngster enrolled in The X-Mansion and honing our mutant capabilities. We'd have young, handsome Charles Xavier give us this look when we're doing well. We'd study alongside Jean Gray and Cyclops, back before the school went through its many future iterations.

Whatever School Ms. Frizzle Teaches At, The Magic School Bus by Joanna Cole

Clearly, Ms. Frizzle's class takes the best field trips of any school ever, and we want in. The class is all about hands-on learning, and for these kinds of field trips to the ocean floor or inside the human body, you know the principal has to be a pretty cool and understanding person as well.

The Oxford, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Yes, Oxford is a real school, but we really want to go to Waugh's fictionalized Oxford to go on road trips with Charles, Sebastian, and Sebastian's beloved teddy bear Aloysius. In Waugh's classic novel, the school is populated by eccentric and larger-than-life characters that would be so fun to encounter.

Battle School, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

OK, so, yes: This is a school that trains children in to kill an alien race, i.e. genocide. And it's also a hugely controlling place where the adults just love to manipulate young children. But, you guys, think of all the fun laser-tag-type games you get to play all day.

Miss Cackle's Academy, Witches, The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy

All that needs to be said is that this is a school to become a witch. Who doesn't want to be a witch? I can't wait to get my black cat and own personal broomstick.

The School of Magic on Roke Island, The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin

Roke is basically the original Hogwarts. It was founded to make a place where wizards could form a community, and the school is based on known the true names of things and achieving balance. Unlike Hogwarts however, the real goal of Roke Island was to use powers to wage battles against the lords.

Culver Creek Preparatory High School, Looking for Alaska by John Green

All I want to do — all I want to do — is enroll in Culver Creek Prep and spend my days playing pranks with the Colonel, Miles, and Alaska against the Weekday Warriors.

School of Avonlea, Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Anne Shirley would be an awesome teacher. She wants the best for all of her students, and she works hard to make sure they get it. But she's also fun and spunky, which means life would never be dull even in a tiny classroom.

Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities? Yes, please! But let's be clear: We want to enroll to be part of the espionage plot to uncover the mysteries of L.I.V.E, we don't want to really go to the school. Plus, I wish all of school were riddles and mind-bending puzzles, like these kids get that answer this advertisement in the newspaper.

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