Another fascinating and thoroughly educating season of Sex Education recently premiered on Netflix. With each season, we fall deeper in love with the diverse students at Moordale and the stunning scenery displayed on the show. We can’t get enough of the views from Otis’ house and his and Eric’s bike ride to school.
You’ll be pleased to learn that the stunning views aren’t the product of fancy camerawork. They are real places, some of which you can visit.
Since season 1, fans have wondered whether Moordale is a real place, and we’ve got the answer for you.
Moordale is not a real place, but the school’s filming location is an abandoned campus in South Wales
Moordale High (despite sounding very real and very British) is not a real school. The crew and cast shoot the school scenes at the Caerleon campus in South Wales.
The former University of Wales, Newport, location closed in 2016 and is yet to find a tenant. The British school with an American-looking clock tower has been modified to look more American than it is British.
The students don’t wear a uniform (spoiler alert: the uniform situation changes in season 3), the school logo resembles one from an Ivy League school, and Moordale has lockers, which are rare in British schools. Asa Butterfield told Vulture:
“It didn’t feel like a British school. It didn’t feel like the one I went to. I think a lot of British schools aren’t like that, with the lockers and there’s no uniform. Everyone’s got a bit more personality in school, whereas back in the U.K., it’s ground down until everyone’s the same.”
However, Moordale’s school gym and hall scenes don’t happen at Caerleon. Those are reserved for the Paget Rooms in Penarth. When not hosting the Sex Education cast, the Paget Rooms serve as the town’s public hall.
You can visit Otis and Jean’s house dubbed ‘The Chalet’ on the border between England and Wales
The Chalet sits in the picturesque Wye Valley and is a location you can visit. Otis and his sex-therapist mom, Jean, live in the house along with Ola, Jakob, and in later seasons, Jakob and Jean’s baby (if Jakob is the father).
The Chalet is a bed and breakfast with an Instagram page. Its website description reads:
“There are lots of places outside to sit and take in the magnificent views. The conservatory leads on to a sheltered patio. Pizzas are cooked in minutes in the hand-made pizza oven. Alternatively, sit out on the deck for breakfast and enjoy full sun throught the afternoon.”
Aimee’s stunning house (Bigsweir House in the Wye Valley) is, unfortunately, privately owned. “We thoroughly enjoyed having the crew here, although I guess more exposure for this area could have some disadvantages,” its owner, Caroline Hopkinson, told The Guardian.
Ola, Adam, and Rahim work at the village shop named Browns Village Stores. The show retains the shop’s real-life name, which Roger and Ruth Brown own. The nearly-century-old shop was established in 1928.
Sterett’s Caravan Park in Wye Valley is Maeve and Isaac’s home on the show. The Forest of Dean is the location for all those picturesque greenery shots.