School of Rock Trivia
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50 free School of Rock trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
42 free School of Rock trivia questions with answers. School of Rock is the rare family comedy that actually rocks: Jack Black posing as a substitute teacher, a class of fifth-graders who can really play, and a Battle of the Bands finale that still gets crowds shouting for an encore. This quiz covers the 2003 film in depth, from No Vacancy and Ned Schneebly to Summer the band manager, Principal Mullins' Stevie Nicks moment and the school bus dash to the show, plus the making of it, the soundtrack (including the video begging Led Zeppelin for a song), the box-office numbers, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and the Nickelodeon series. The early questions are easy for anyone who has seen the film; later ones dig into filming locations, casting and stage-show details. Every answer was checked against the film's documented production and release history, so it will hold up in an argument. Good for a movie night, a music-class treat or a pub quiz round. Free, no signup, answers included.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who directed the 2003 film School of Rock?
Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater steered clear of polished Hollywood child actors who would have mimed: he searched the country for kids who could really play, so nobody in the band is dubbed.
Q 02In School of Rock, Dewey tells his class that the world is run by whom?
The Man
The Man, Dewey rants, is everywhere, from the White House to the principal down the hall; rock 'n' roll used to be the way to stick it to him, he says, until The Man ruined that too with MTV.
Q 03In School of Rock, which show tune does Summer belt out off-key at her band audition?
Memory
Memory, the ballad from Cats, gets a few off-key words before Dewey cuts her off; two classmates have just shone with 'Tomorrow' and 'Amazing Grace', and Summer quickly adds that she can also play clarinet.
Q 04What ends Dewey's final performance with his old band?
A failed stage dive
A failed stage dive ends the set when nobody catches Dewey. Jack Black took the gag from life: he once watched The Cult's Ian Astbury leap into a crowd that simply parted.
Q 05Whose identity does Dewey steal to land the teaching job?
His roommate Ned
His roommate Ned is the real teacher: Dewey picks up a phone call meant for him, hears what the school pays, and answers to his name. The film's screenwriter plays the part himself.
Q 06What is the name of the prep school where Dewey teaches?
Horace Green
Horace Green calls itself the best elementary school in the state and runs on rules, so Dewey has to smuggle his band out to audition and pass the final show off as a field trip.
Q 07Why does Dewey tell the class to call him "Mr. S"?
He cannot spell Schneebly
He cannot spell Schneebly, the name he is working under, so when the principal asks him to write it on the board he tells the class that 'Mr. S' will do.
Q 08The singer of Dewey's old band is played by Adam Pascal, an original star of which Broadway rock musical?
Rent
Rent made Pascal's name as the guitarist Roger. He really sings the band's power ballad in the film, yet the credits name only the fictional group, which he says still irks him.
Q 09Which student becomes lead guitarist of Dewey's class band in School of Rock?
Zack Mooneyham
Zack Mooneyham has a father who won't let him touch an electric guitar, yet it is the song he writes in secret that the whole band plays at the Battle of the Bands.
Q 10Katie plays which classical instrument before Dewey moves her to bass?
Cello
Cello and bass guitar are 'exactly the same', Dewey assures Katie: tip the big instrument on its side, keep one note coming, and let your fingers do the rocking.
Q 11What job does the precocious Summer Hathaway land in Dewey's project?
Band manager
Band manager is a title Dewey invents on the spot: Summer, first cast as a groupie, looks the word up, storms back to complain, and is promptly put in charge of everything.
Q 12In School of Rock, which student is too self-conscious to audition despite having an amazing voice?
Tomika
Tomika fears the class will laugh at her weight until Dewey points to Aretha Franklin, a big lady, he says, who blows people's minds the moment she starts to sing.
Q 13What lie gets Dewey's band an audition after the Battle of the Bands bill is full?
The kids are terminally ill
Q 21School of Rock's star already fronted which real-life comedy rock duo?
Tenacious D
Tenacious D, Jack Black's duo with Kyle Gass, had its own HBO shorts until, by the pair's account, the network offered ten more episodes only if they gave up creative control, and they walked away.
Q 22Which AC/DC song do the School of Rock kids cover for their encore?
It's a Long Way to the Top
It's a Long Way to the Top plays the film out, the band jamming while Dewey sings that the movie is over and the credits have to roll; the grown-up cast played it again at a 2013 reunion.
Q 23Which song by The Who is fittingly on the School of Rock soundtrack?
Substitute
The kids are terminally ill, Dewey tells the organisers at Summer's prompting: a rare blood disease, and one last wish to play. She earns an A-plus and 50 gold stars for the idea.
Q 14In School of Rock, Dewey bonds with Principal Mullins over her love of which singer?
Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks is the way in: tipped off that the principal once did a Nicks impression on a table, Dewey takes her to a bar, puts on 'Edge of Seventeen' and watches her unwind.
Q 15Who plays Principal Rosalie Mullins in School of Rock?
Joan Cusack
Joan Cusack plays her as a bundle of nerves who confesses to Dewey over a drink that she used to be funny, before the pressure of the school's parents wound her this tight.
Q 16In School of Rock, what arrives at the apartment Dewey shares and exposes his scheme?
A paycheck from the school
A paycheck from the school arrives made out to the name Dewey has been using, and the secret is out; Dewey groans that he told them 15 times to make it out to cash.
Q 17Which band beats School of Rock to win the Battle of the Bands?
No Vacancy
No Vacancy takes the prize to boos from the hall, and the crowd chants for the losers until the kids come back out to play an encore.
Q 18School of Rock was inspired by a 1970s Canadian teacher's cult recordings of his pupils performing what?
Pop hits of the day
Pop hits of the day, from the Beach Boys to David Bowie, taped in a school gym by teacher Hans Fenger, resurfaced on CD in 2001 as The Langley Schools Music Project and caught the screenwriter's ear.
Q 19Which earlier cult comedy was made by School of Rock's director?
Dazed and Confused
Dazed and Confused was meant to close on a Led Zeppelin song, but the band said no; ten years later the same director finally landed one of their tracks for School of Rock.
Q 20How was Led Zeppelin persuaded to allow 'Immigrant Song' in School of Rock?
The star begged them on video
The star begged them on video: at the director's suggestion Jack Black pleaded from the Battle of the Bands stage with the extras chanting along, and the tape went straight to Page, Plant and Jones.
Substitute, The Who's 1966 single, is the album's third track: its title suits a hero who bluffs his way into a classroom under someone else's name.
Q 24In School of Rock, which Doors song does Dewey sing to Lawrence while the boy plays the keyboard part?
Touch Me
Touch Me is Lawrence's audition: the boy says he only plays piano, Dewey counts him in and sings over his organ line, then stops him to say he is perfect.
Q 25According to Dewey Finn, what 'can change the world'?
One great rock show
One great rock show can change the world, Dewey lectures his drummer after hauling him out of a van of older musicians; later the kids throw the line back at him to get him out of bed.
Q 26Trying to sell his 1968 Gibson SG by phone, Dewey insists which rock legend once played it?
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix, Dewey insists, played this very guitar; the buyer hangs up on him, and the next call to the apartment is a principal in urgent need of a teacher.
Q 27School of Rock's writer created Dewey for Jack Black after giving him a slacker role in which 2002 comedy?
Orange County
Orange County cast Black as the hero's stoner brother; its writer then built Dewey Finn around him, so the star never had to audition for the film he calls the one he was born to do.
Q 28What award did Jack Black win at the MTV Movie Awards for School of Rock?
Best Comedic Performance
Best Comedic Performance honoured Black's Dewey, a teacher whose first lesson is to tell a class of ten-year-olds he has a hangover, abolish gold stars and demerits, and declare recess all the time.
Q 29The School of Rock sequel announced in 2008 would have sent Dewey and a new class where?
On a cross-country field trip
On a cross-country field trip through rock history was the plan for 'School of Rock 2: America Rocks'; Jack Black said in 2012 it stalled because star, writer and director never agreed on a script.
Q 30Which composer bought the stage rights to School of Rock and wrote the musical's score?
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber bought the rights in 2013 unsure he was needed, saying the story 'obviously got songs in it as it stands'; in the end he wrote a new score around the film's own numbers.