55+ Inspirational School Quotes for Every Student (2024)

Written byShutterfly Community Last Updated: Aug 29, 2023

From the first day of school to the last, your education is a major part of your life. And, trying to sum up all the hard work and fun times can be a little tricky. Whether you’re looking for the perfect graduation caption or trying to figure out what to write in a yearbook, the following school quotes will help you find the right words. Pick your favorite below, or use them as inspiration to write your own message. With Shutterfly, your kid’s back to school journey will be special because when you personalize supplies with their name, photo, cool graphics, and messages to motivate them.

Jump to:

• First Day Of School Quotes
• Back To School Quotes
• High School Quotes
• Middle School Quotes
• Funny Quotes About School
• Inspirational School Quotes
• End Of School Year Quotes

First Day Of School Quotes

Whether you’re looking for the perfect caption for your first day of school photos or just need a little inspiration before your first class, these first day of school quotes were made just for you. And if you want additional help, make sure to visit our school picture day guide and school gear resources.

• “The most important day of a person’s education is the first day of school, not Graduation Day.” – Harry Wong
• “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” – Charles Dederich
• “You’re off to great to great places. Today is your first day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!” – Dr. Seuss
• “I’ve always loved the first day of school better than the last day of school. Firsts are best because they are beginnings.” – Jenny Han
• “The first day of school: The day when the countdown to the last day of the school begins.” –Unknown
• “All children start their school careers with sparkling imaginations, fertile minds, and a willingness to take risks with what they think.” – Ken Robinson

Back To School Quotes

If you’re in need of some motivation to get up on that first day and make your way to homeroom, we’ve totally got you covered. The following school quotes look as good on your Instagram as they do on our back to school gifts. Just make sure to use our back to school checklist so you’re not missing anything on your first day back.

• “School bells are ringing loud and clear; vacation’s over, school is here.” – Winifred C. Marshal
• “The first day of school is always a fashion show. The rest of the school year? A pajama party.” – Unknown
• “Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
• “It’s one of my favorite seasons of the year: Back to School. As a kid, I loved fresh school supplies, new outfits, the change of seasons, and the chance to crack open a new textbook.” – Dana Perino
• “Labor Day is a glorious holiday because your child will be going back to school the next day. It would have been called Independence Day, but that name was already taken.” – Bill Dodds
• “This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.” – Taylor Swift

High School Quotes

Between the classes, your friends, and all your extracurriculars– there’s a lot going on in high school. Celebrate with the following quotes, and make sure to visit our resource on high school graduation party ideas when you reach the end of the school year!

• “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” – Steve Martin
• “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” –Aristotle
• “No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.” –Regina Brett
• “High school is what kind of grows you into the person you are. I have great memories, good and bad, some learning experiences and some that I’ll take with me the rest of my life.” – Giancarlo Stanton
• “What I remember most about high school are the memories I created with my friends.” – J. J. Watt
• “High school is neither a democracy nor a dictatorship – nor, contrary to popular belief, an anarchic state. High school is a divine-right monarchy. And when the queen goes on vacation, things change.” – John Green
• “High school is about finding who you are, because that’s more important than trying to be someone else.” – Nick Jonas
• “By the end of high school I was not of course an educated man, but I knew how to try to become one.” – Clifton Fadiman

Middle School Quotes

Middle school can be tough at times, so we’ve found the following middle school quotes to help inspire you. Pick your favorite from the list below and use it to help you through both the good and hard times to come.

• “Middle school is kind of like Middle-earth. It’s a magical journey filled with elves, dwarves, hobbits, queens, kings, and a few corrupt wizards. Word to the wise: pick your traveling companions well. Ones with the courage and moral fiber to persevere. Ones who wield their lip gloss like magic wands when confronted with danger. This way, when you pass through the congested hallways rife with pernicious diversion, you achieve your desired destination—or at least your next class.” – Kimberly Dana
• “Teaching middle school is an adventure not a job.” – Angela K. Bennett
• “But the more we all stuck together, the more outside layers fell off, revealing that we all have insecurities, fears, and dreams. And that’s perfectly normal. That’s how God made us.” – Allyson Kennedy
• “Middle school has many complex tunnels, some are underground.”– Alexandra Contreras-Montesano
• “One day middle school will end and become high school and after that it just becomes life. All those things you think are important now won’t be anymore.” – Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Funny Quotes About School

It’s important to find the humor in the little things when it comes to school, and that’s just what the following funny quotes do.

• “Describing her first day back in grade school after a long absence, a teacher said, It was like trying to hold 35 corks underwater at the same time.” – Mark Twain
• “Work hard, nap hard.” – Demi Lovato
• “Sign on a high school bulletin board in Dallas: Free every Monday through Friday: knowledge. Bring your own containers.” – E.C. McKenzie
• “I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.” – Winston Churchill
• “In school one learns to ask stupid questions of life.” – Marty Rubin
• “School means work and work means death. Let’s all go take a nap.” –Emma Shannon
• “We all learn by experience but some of us have to go to summer school.” – Peter De Vries
• “You can drag my body to school but my spirit refuses to go.” – Bill Watterson
• “As long as teachers give tests, there will always be prayer in schools.” – Unknown
• “No school without spectacular eccentrics and crazy hearts is worth attending.” –Saul Bellow

Inspirational School Quotes

The following motivational quotes for school are there to help you when school gets difficult, and to help you go the extra mile when things are going well. They also look great on your personalized notebooks.

• “Learn as much as you can while you are young, since life becomes too busy later.” – Dana Stewart Scott
• “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
• “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” – Chinese Proverb
• “Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.” – Oprah Winfrey
• “The road to freedom –here and everywhere on earth-– begins in the classroom.” – Hubert Humphrey
• “School is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside.” – Lon Watters
• “I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy- I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” – Art Williams
• “Intelligence plus character that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
• “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier

End Of School Year Quotes

Once you reach the end of the school year, it’s important to look back and reflect on your education. These quotes can help you do just that, and they’re perfect additions for your graduation cap ideas.

• “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” – Dr. Seuss
• “Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do.” – Oprah Winfrey
• “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” – A.A. Milne
• “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
• “What feels like the end is often the beginning.” –Unknown
• “Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard
• “Let’s do what we love, and let’s do a lot of it.” – Marc Jacobs

Resources Related to School Quotes

Get your student excited for school withpersonalized school gear like notebooks, water bottles, journals, keychains, and more that showcase their personality. Personalizing their school supplies are a perfect way to make back-to-school essentials more fun, colorful, and special. If you liked this resource on school quotes and you’re looking for more related content, make sure to visit our other school & kid resources:

• Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas
• Gifts for Kids
• Graduation Quotes and Sayings
• Yearbook Quotes
• Yearbook Ideas