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When the much-hyped Netflix series Sex Education debuted last year, I sat down to watch the first episode one evening. Four episodes and three-and-a-half hours later, I had to force myself to stop in order to get some sleep.
By the end of the first episode I was hooked. You’ve got sex (of all kinds), debauchery, teenage romance and Gillian Anderson in a show about a teenager who inadvertently becomes his school’s sex therapist. Yet, this British comedy set in rolling leafy hills left me with one question: where is this set?
The series was filmed in various locations in south Wales and parts of Gloucestershire – the sunny skies a far cry from the bleak and cold London we are currently experiencing.
Moordale High, the school shown in the show, is the Carleon campus, formerly one of the University of Wales buildings before it was closed in 2016. The school’s gym, which is used in some scenes, is not part of the campus, but was recreated in the town of Penarth in the Paget Rooms.
Another key filming location is the distinctive house that Otis (Asa Butterfield) and his mother Jean (Gillian Anderson) live in, which overlooks the River Wye. The Scandinavian-inspired red and white house is situated in the Forest of Dean and borders Wales and Gloucestershire.
Called ‘The Chalet’ and located in Symonds Yat East, it was once a B&B but is currently closed to the public. The original season of the show was filmed during summer, with Butterfield posting a picture of the house to his Instagram in May 2018.
The bridge Otis and Eric often cross while heading to school is another beautiful filming location. This is the Old Railway Bridge at Tintern, part of the stunning Wye Valley Walk.
Aimee’s house, where she holds a house party early in the series and after school ‘study’ sessions, is Bigsweir House overlooking the banks of the River Wye on the Wales-England border. A Grade II-listed building rebuilt in 1740, the house is now owned by Caroline Hopkinson, who told the Guardian: “We thoroughly enjoyed having the crew here, although I guess more exposure for this area could have some disadvantages.”
While you may be mistaken for thinking the location has a distinctly American vibe to it – this was done on purpose.
Writer Laurie Nunn told Nunn told Radio Times: “I’ve always been really influenced by American film and TV shows; they played a really big part in my own teenage years, so that was always something I wanted to come back to. It’s definitely set in Britain, but we’ve made a very conscious choice to have that American, throwback nostalgia, John Hughes feel to it.”
Additionally, executive producer and director of the show, Ben Taylor told the publication: “I’ve always been really frustrated that the British school experience is never portrayed with positivity or colour or warmth or hope; it always tends to be sticking two fingers up and saying, ‘I’m out of here as soon as I graduate’.
“Whereas I think there’s an American feeling that, even though the films are riddled with anxieties and angst, you’d still look back at them as the best years of your life. That became the backdrop of what we wanted to set Otis’s story against.”
The show has certainly achieved this positivity, with characters dressed in bright clothes reflective of ‘70s and ‘80s fashion – the stunning scenery is just the cherry on top. If you want to see it for yourself, be sure to head to the Forest of Dean for a weekend escape this summer.
