17-07-2025
Why the Harry Potter TV cast won't need to leave the set, even for school
Harry Potter is being reimagined for a second time, introducing a new generation of actors to the magical world that will take over their lives for the next ten years.
The young cast, particularly Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout, will spend a significant portion of their time on set for HBO's TV adaptation of JK Rowling's books. As a result, they will be unable to go to school during that time, but Warner Bros. has found a solution.
To avoid the child stars missing out on their important education, Warner Bros. has built a bespoke school that will ensure they don't fall behind with their studies while the series is in production. Filming has just begun on the show, just in time for the summer holidays, but there will come a point where the young actors will need to return to their studies — here is how it will work.
According to the BBC, the Three Rivers District Council has given Warner Bros Studios Leavesden permission to use portacabin structures as a school facility. The film studios have permission to use this for the next decade.
The specially designed classrooms will be able to hold up to 600 pupils at any one time, which will come in useful when large crowd scenes with hundreds of extras are due to be filmed. However, it has been reported that the school facility will be used primarily for 150 students on a normal filming day.
When they're not reciting magical incantations in Hogwarts, the actors will be in classrooms with lessons operating on weekdays between 5:30AM and 8:30PM. Lessons will also be fit around their filming schedule, which is expected to include night shoots, reshoots and location filming.
The planning approval has come in for a "significant new TV series which will base itself at the studio for the next 8–10 years", and while the document does not specifically mention the Harry Potter TV series, it is understood that this is what it is used for. In the proposal it was added that the school infrastructure will be used for a maximum of ten years.
Per local paper The Comet, the planning document states: "This facility will play a vital role in supporting young performers and allow production activities to take place seamlessly on site without disruption to the filming schedule and the associated cost impacts that could occur as a result of pupils having to leave site."
The HBO series is expected to be a more accurate adaptation of Rowling's books, and it is expected to adapt all seven books. Given that the school facility is approved for a 10-year period, it is likely that the TV show will be made over the next decade.
The Harry Potter TV series is expected to be released in 2027.
