10. Suspiria (1977)
Before J. K. Rowling had the idea to populate a private boarding school with wizards, famed director Dario Argento had turned his own boarding school into a coven of witches.
Suspiriaremains one of the best—as well as one of the freakiest—films of Argento’s career. It follows a girl who thinks she’s studying at a dance academy, only to realize that the truth is much more sinister.
Related:The Best Folk Horror Movies (What Is Folk Horror? Explained)
9. She’s the Man (2006)
She’s the Manwas somewhat ahead of its time as a film that wanted to show that girls could do anything just as well as boys could.
The plot follows Viola Hastings (played by Amanda Bynes), a girl who thinks she can play soccer at the same level as the boys in her class. And she can! But she’s not given the opportunity to prove it.
That is, until she masquerades as a boy and sneaks into the male dormitories of a soccer camp. Over the course of the film, she proves exactly what she sets out to prove.
Fun fact:Interestingly enough,She’s the Manwas based on William Shakespeare’s play calledTwelfth Night!
Related:The Best Movies With Cheerleaders, Ranked
8. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
One of the most fantastical movies about boarding schools—beyond that one magical franchise you’re probably thinkg about—remainsMiss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
Jake Portman (played by Asa Butterfield) travels all the way to Cairnholm in an attempt to find the secluded home for “peculiar children.” He’s not entirely sure what that even means, but he’s going to find out soon!
As it turns out, they’re all children with magical powers. No, this is nothing likeX-Men! The tone is completely different and the young adult story features love, danger, and fear of a man named Mr. Barron.
Related:The Best Young Adulthood Movies About Teens Coming of Age
7. Madeline (1998)
A forgotten classic,Madelinecenters on a young girl of the same name who attends a strict Catholic boarding school in France.
Across disparate tales and various plotlines that encompass four of the books on which the film was based, we watch as Madeline grows up, develops her first crush, and escapes a kidnapping attempt.
Oh, there’s also Frances McDormand playing a tender and understanding Catholic nun, which makes it all the better.
Related:The Best Girlhood Movies About Being a Teenage Girl
6. Never Let Me Go (2010)
Never Let Me Gois set in a dystopian reality in which clones are created, raised, and sheltered within boarding schools until they reach the age when they can be harvested for their organs.
We follow the lives of Kathy H., Ruth C., and Tommy D. as a love triangle develops between them, plus all the other stuff that happens as they attempt to fight the inescapable loneliness that haunts them.
Knowing that their lives are incredibly finite, we watch as they form the bonds that define their short lives spent at a boarding school.
Related:The Best Movies About Loneliness and Feeling Lonely
5. Rushmore (1998)
In his second feature film, Wes Anderson turned his unique directorial eye to the eponymous private school of Rushmore.
The film follows Max Fischer, a boy who has fallen head over heels in love with one of his teachers. A pretentious kid, he tries his best to impress her in ways that he think an adult might.
However, he soon finds himself in competition with a parent (played by Bill Murray) and the results are as hilarious as you can imagine.
Related:The Best Indie Movies of the 1990s, Ranked
4. Dead Poets Society (1989)
Dead Poets Societywas such an important film, if for no other reason than how it changed people’s opinions on the strict, militant forms of teaching implemented by many private schools.
Complete with an iconic performance from Robin Williams,Dead Poets Societyhighlights the impact that teachers can have on their students and their lives. It also showcases how important it is to stand up for what you believe in, even if you stand out from the group.
A film that celebrates life, love, poetry, and individualism, it all takes place in an autocratic boarding school.
Related:The Best Movies About Poets and Poetry, Ranked
3. Scent of a Woman (1992)
Scent of a Womancomes in at number three on this list because it teaches the importance of standing up for yourself and what you think is right (even more effectively thanDead Poets Society).
The film takes place in a private boarding school and centers on Charlie Simms (played by Chris O’Donnell), who witnesses a prank take place in which the principal’s car is vandalized.
While others decide to snitch, Charlie—the isolated outcast—stands up for what he believes is true and right.
Related:The Best Movies About Communities, Ranked
2. Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987)
Little-known by even the most ardent cinephiles,Au Revoir Les Enfants(meaning “goodbye, children”) is one of the most important portrayals of both humanitarianism and human depravity.
Set in a Catholic boarding school in German-occupied France during World War II, the story follows Julien (played by Gaspard Manesse), a tough French kid who’s hiding how much he misses his mother.
He’s asked to share his room with Jean Bonnet (played by Raphaël Fejtö), a new boy he doesn’t like very much. But as he soon finds out, Julien might be hiding a softer side but Jean is hiding his entire identity—he’s actually Jean Kippelstein, a Jew hiding from the Nazis.
What follows is a story that transcends its boarding school setting and forces us to look at it as a microcosm of the world itself.
Related:The Best WW2 Movies of All Time, Ranked
1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
If there was one private boarding school that all children actually wanted to attend, it would have to be Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Of course! Why wouldn’t you want to go there?
Up until director Alfonso Cuarón gave children nightmares with the dementors inThe Prisoner of Azkaban, these films were a joyous and magical romp with only a little bit of threatening danger.
But even those children grew up—and then they wanted to go to Hogwarts even more, no matter how scary it was at times.
All we need to hear is the iconic theme and we’re all transported back to that wondrous private school of magic. For that reason alone, it’s enough for me to place it at the top of our list.
Read next:The Best Harry Potter Movie Scenes and Moments, Ranked
