17 Idioms Related to School

17 Idioms Related to School (Meanings & Examples)

Hello, English learners! 👋 Welcome to a new lesson. English uses many school-related idioms not only to talk about education, but also to describe learning, intelligence, mistakes, effort, and experience in everyday life. These idioms are very common in spoken English, informal writing, and exam answers. Let’s look at 17 useful idioms related to school, with clear meanings and natural example sentences.

Back to school

Meaning: the time when students return to school after a holiday.

Shops are full of discounts during the back-to-school season.
After the summer break, students were excited to go back to school.

Bookworm

Meaning: a person who loves reading and studying.

She’s a real bookworm who spends hours in the library.
He was such a bookworm that he preferred books to video games.

Crack a book

Meaning: to start studying seriously (often after delaying).

You’d better crack a book if you want to pass that exam.
He finally cracked a book the night before the test.

Cut class

Meaning: to skip school or a lesson without permission.

They cut class and went to the cinema instead.
She got into trouble for cutting class too often.

Hit the books

Meaning: to study hard.

Exams are coming, so it’s time to hit the books.
If you want good results, you’ll need to hit the books this weekend.

Make the grade

Meaning: to reach the required standard or level.

She worked hard to make the grade at university.
Not everyone makes the grade in such a competitive field.

Old school

Meaning: traditional; not modern or fashionable.

He prefers old-school teaching methods.
Her style is very old school, but it works.

Pass with flying colours

Meaning: to succeed easily and with excellent results.

She passed the exam with flying colours.
Despite the pressure, he passed with flying colours.

Put your thinking cap on

Meaning: to think carefully and creatively.

Come on, put your thinking cap on — there must be a solution.
The task really made us put our thinking caps on.

Rack your brain

Meaning: to try very hard to remember or think of something.

I racked my brain trying to remember his name.
She racked her brain for ideas during the exam.

Schoolboy error

Meaning: a very basic or careless mistake.

Forgetting to attach the file was a schoolboy error.
He made a schoolboy error in the final minutes of the match.

Schooldays

Meaning: the time when someone was at school.

He often talks about his schooldays with nostalgia.
The novel captures the innocence of schooldays perfectly.

School of hard knocks

Meaning: learning through difficult life experiences, not formal education.

He learned everything through the school of hard knocks.
Her business skills came from the school of hard knocks.

School of thought

Meaning: a particular way of thinking shared by a group.

There are two main schools of thought on this issue.
One school of thought supports traditional education methods.

School run

Meaning: the daily trip parents make to take children to and from school.

The school run takes up most of her mornings.
Traffic is terrible during the school run.

Teacher’s pet

Meaning: a student favoured by the teacher.

Everyone thought she was the teacher’s pet.
Being the teacher’s pet didn’t make him popular with classmates.

Top of the class

Meaning: the best student; the highest performer.

She finished top of the class in maths.
His hard work paid off — he was top of the class.

Final tip for learners

Many school idioms are used outside education, especially in work situations, exams and everyday conversation.

For example:

He passed the interview with flying colours
That mistake was a real schoolboy error

Learning these idioms will make your English sound more natural, confident, and expressive.