The child stars of the forthcoming HBO series adaptation of Harry Potter will undertake their muggle education alongside their wizarding one in a purpose-built school on the set of the new show.
Warner Bros has been successful in applying to the Three Rivers District Council for permission to use portable buildings as a school for pupils for the next eight to 10 years while the high-profile series films in Leavesden.
The facility, based at the company’s studios near Watford, has capacity for up to 600 children during peak periods and is expected to cater to around 150 on average. The numbers suggest that young extras on set will also benefit from the plan.
It will operate on weekends between 5.30am and 8.30pm, allowing flexibility around filming, according to an officer’s report following a planning application. Documents relating to the request describe the project as a “significant new TV series, which will base itself at the studio for the next eight to 10 years”.
Work appears to have already started on the school, with the application to the council being part-retrospective.
The news comes as some concern was raised for the wellbeing of the newly announced child actors who will front the series. Over 30,000 children auditioned for the lead roles, with Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout cast as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, respectively.
Previous stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Ron Weasley received private tutoring while they shot the films at Leavesden Studios to avoid missing out on their education.
Other actors to have been announced for the HBO show, due to be released in 2027, include Nick Frost as groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid, John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as professor Minerva McGonagall, and Paapa Essiedu as Potions teacher Severus Snape.
Expected to run for a decade, the series will dedicate each season to one of the seven books by author JK Rowling.
Rowling, who maintains ownership over key aspects of Harry Potter intellectual property, including the characters, will serve as an executive producer on the series.
