5 March 2022

Rafe Spall had a “tough” time at school.

Rafe Spall had a tough time at school

The 38-year-old actor attended an inner-city state school in south-east London, as his parents were “politically opposed” to him being privately educated – and Rafe admits his school years were far from easy.

The movie star – who is the son of actor Timothy Spall – shared: “I didn’t have a good time there. I hated it. It was just an intense environment to go to school in. It was rough and ready and f****** … not easy.”

Rafe had undiagnosed learning difficulties during his time at school, which meant he was dropped into the lower-level classes.

And his issues were compounded by his dad’s health struggles.

He told The Independent: “That’s not good for anyone, is it? It just made me feel rubbish. And my dad got poorly when I was at school. He got leukaemia and stuff, so it was tough.”

Despite this, Rafe thinks that, in some ways, he benefited from attending a very diverse school in inner-city London.

He reflected: “Even though my education itself was risible – and it was – my social grounding was far deepened. I was around people of different cultures, races, socioeconomic backgrounds … That set me up in a way that I’m incredibly grateful for.

“You don’t get that really, growing up in the Cotswolds.”

Meanwhile, Rafe previously admitted that he identifies as a Londoner first, and an Englishman second.

Speaking about his TV series ‘Trying’, Rafe explained: “I’m a born and raised Londoner and I identify with being a Londoner over being English really, so to represent London for a global audience is really lovely.

“This show gets seen around the world. And I think the world’s perception of a British culture is quite myopic. I think people in America think we all live in, like, abbeys.”