Schools And Universities

Basic Information

A School is an institution designed for the instruction of students, guided by teachers.

In the modern era most countries have government-run school systems, often compulsory; although private schools, run by religious or other organizations also exist and these, historically, were the rule rather than the exception.

Schools are generally divided into Primary Schools for young children; Secondary Schools for adolescents; and Post-Secondary, including Trade Schools, Colleges and Universities.

Notable Schools and Universities

• Bauhaus

See Also

Tropes

Academy of Adventure
Wizarding School

Sources

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia article: School

Game and Story Use

• Schools and Universities have a long and honourable history both as settings for adventure and locations to visit during the course of them.
  • And where schooling is compulsory, a character of the right age who cuts class to investigate the weird house on the hill (or whatever) is liable to attract questions.
• The characters can be students or faculty … or they can be visiting to take advantage of the accumulated knowledge to be found there.
  • Being alums of the same school can explain how characters know one another.
  • And a school might not have been the building's first purpose either - there could be something hidden outside visitor areas that the characters need to see.
• In some eras a university will be a political body in its own right - the machinations of the University of Cambridge in Susanna Gregory's Matthew Bartholomew novels are a good example of this.
  • Even if the university is dedicated to neutrality, it may need to become a political power just to avoid being taken over.
• In other eras, the alumini of a school rather than its faculty may be the political body - see for example any Ivy League University in the US, the Oxbridge Universities in the UK and many of Britain's major public schools.
• And of course Universities are well known for collections of rare … perhaps fortean … books and artifacts.
• High School is the default setting for Anime-style Wacky Teen Comedy campaigns.
• A big enough and old enough conspiracy might have its own school(s) to train members up from childhood … expect small and exclusive private boarding schools in remote locations.
• Can be a way to characterize someone; what schools you went to (and what you studied) can be a marker of class, background, intelligence, or any number of other traits.