Netflix Hit Series ‘Sex Education’ Finds Home at University of Bristol for Filming

Viewers of Sex Education might recognise a few Bristol locations when the eagerly-anticipated final season airs on Netflix today.

Although largely filmed in Wales, two University of Bristol buildings feature in the popular series – the iconic Wills Memorial Building and the School of Chemistry.

Sex Education is a British teen sex comedy drama which follows the lives of the students, staff and parents of the fictional Moordale Secondary School as they contend with various personal dilemmas.

Official photos and the Netflix trailer show characters such as Maeve Wiley (played by Emma Mackey, who recently starred in Barbie), headteacher Michael Groff (Alistair Petrie) and Ruby Matthews (Mimi Keene) on campus in Bristol.

Maeve’s departure to study in the US was one of last season’s bombshells, the other being the closure of Moordale. Both of these mean that viewers will be seeing the school friends in some new places.

The library in the Wills Memorial Building doubles as a key part of the fictional Wallace University in the United States, where Maeve is studying. While the School of Chemistry is used as the canteen at Cavendish College – the new school where the gang is trying to fit in following the closure of Moordale.

The Palm Temple art installation outside the School of Chemistry, created by Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram, features prominently with the multicoloured glass dome providing a striking backdrop to the ‘ultra-modern and high-tech’ college.

Corey Moore, Senior Events Coordinator at the University of Bristol, said: “It is always exciting working on large-scale filming productions across the University estate, but as a fan of Netflix’s Sex Education and knowing how popular it is globally, I was particularly proud to see parts of the University form key filming locations.

“With long hours and complex operations, this was a real team effort with members of Venues and Events working closely with colleagues across the University and our partners at Bristol Film Office to be able to facilitate such a high-profile production.”

The show has been a huge success for Netflix and has become one of the most popular shows on the streaming platform, with over 40 million viewers streaming the first series alone. Season 3 won the International Emmy for Comedy.

All eight episodes of Season 4 drop today, wrapping up the stories of Otis, Maeve, Eric and the rest of the cast.