Back to school 2025: 6 cult films to take you back to the classroom

Back-to-school season is here, with its new supplies, ironed outfits and blank agendas. To prolong the carefree spirit of the vacations, there’s nothing better than cult films about school life.

Every September, the atmosphere is charged with a mixture of stress, nostalgia and excitement. Children head back to school, parents race between stationery aisles and extracurricular activities, while older children find themselves dreaming of high school corridors or college lecture halls. To ease you back into the back-to-school mood, here are six cult films to (re)watch from the comfort of your own home.

L’Étudiante by Claude Pinoteau (1988)

After La Boum, Sophie Marceau returns to the role of a brilliant, romantic young woman. In L’Étudiante, she plays Valentine Ezquerra, a candidate for the agrégation in classics, caught between her classes at the Sorbonne, her revisions, and a romance with a young night owl played by Vincent Lindon. We discover a studious yet vibrant Paris, between classrooms and scenes of hushed seduction. A film that reconciles literary minds with the back-to-school season, and almost makes you want to go back to prep school.

College Attitude by Raja Gosnell (1999)

Beneath its air of light comedy, this American film starring Drew Barrymore raises a vertiginous question: what would we do if we could relive our adolescence, with our adult eyes? Josie, an introverted journalist, returns to high school for an investigation and relives the traumas of her youth. More subtle than it seems, College Attitude is a bittersweet exploration of the high school years, between dreams of popularity and the quest for identity.

Revenge of the Blonde by Robert Luketic (2001)

It’s hard to talk about school without mentioningElle Woods, Harvard’s brightest (and pinkest) student. This film, starring Reese Witherspoon, shows that determination and intelligence can be expressed in all shades of pink. A cross between comedy, satire and feminist manifesto, Revenge of the Blonde is an ode to perseverance, much more than a simple chick flick.

LOL (Laughing Out Loud) by Lisa Azuelos (2009)

Teenage Paris, long-winded text messages, a loyal group of friends and quarrelsome love affairs: that’s the recipe for LOL. This French film follows Lola (Christa Theret), a Parisian high school student from the 16th arrondissement, as she experiences her first romantic disappointments. Set against the backdrop of a Parisian high school, with its edgy teachers and overexcited corridors, the film manages to capture a fair and funny snapshot of French youth in the 2000s. The sequel, LOL 2, is scheduled for release in 2026, but the first opus remains one of the great Parisian teen classics.

Lolita malgré moi by Mark Waters (2003)

An absolute icon of school pop culture, Lolita malgré moi (or Mean Girls) explores the ruthless world of American high schools. Social castes, rivalries between girls, absurd rules (” on Wednesdays, we wear pink “)… it’s all there. With Lindsay Lohan as the candid heroine and Rachel McAdams as the tyrannical queen bee, this film is at once satirical, funny and incredibly lucid on the symbolic violence of the high school years. A true manual for social survival in the teenage world.

Clueless by Amy Heckerling (1995)

And last but not least, Clueless, the modern adaptation of Jane Austen’sEmma, set in a posh Beverly Hills high school. Heroine Cher Horowitz, played by Alicia Silverstone, is at once superficial, generous, stylish and intelligent. Her wardrobe, designed by costume designer Mona May, has left its mark on the history of cinema, as have her pungent lines and her faux airs of light comedy. It’s a cult film that has given a new lease of life to checkered uniforms and heartfelt teenage humor.

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