History Main / SchoolForcedUsTogether

* In ''Literature/AreYouThereGodItsMeMargaret'', Margaret (after her class acts out out) is made to sit between to ClassClown Freddy Barnett and [[SlutShaming "bad girl"]] Laura Danker. She later has to do a group project with Laura, Philip Leroy, and Norman Fishbein, which means sitting together and talking; Margaret, who has been believing all the rumors about Laura Danker, is upset at this. She also is irritated that Philip doesn't help at all, her AbhorrentAdmirer Norman reads moving his lips, and [[SkewedPriorities the project is on Belgium, which she thinks is a boring country]]. She eventually takes her frustrations out on Laura while they're at the library, and [[WhatTheHellHero Laura calls her out on it.]]

* Miko and Onodera from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' end up becoming friends due to their time together on the Culture Festival committee (Onodera had joined voluntarily while Miko was there as a representative of the Student Council). While the two were already in the same class, it's clear that they never would have interacted otherwise due to just how different their personalities and social circles were.

* In ''Literature/AreYouThereGodItsMeMargaret'' Margaret (after her class acts out out) is made to sit between to ClassClown Freddy Barnett and [[SlutShaming "bad girl"]] Laura Danker. She later has to do a group project with Laura, Philip Leroy, and Norman Fishbein, which means sitting together and talking; Margaret, who has been believing all the rumors about Laura Danker, is upset at this. She also is irritated that Philip doesn't help at all, her AbhorrentAdmirer Norman reads moving his lips, and [[SkewedPriorities the project is on Belgium, which she thinks is a boring country]]. She eventually takes her frustrations out on Laura while they're at the library, and [[WhatTheHellHero Laura calls her out on it.]]
* The five main characters of ''Literature/BadNewsBallet'' all meet during ballet auditions for the local dance academy's performance of ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'', and all of them but Mary Bubnik have taken some form of informal ballet class ballet prior to the auditions. They remain together afterwards in the class, in part for each other and in part because they can't let their rivals the Bunheads think they're quitters.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Students who go to [[WizardingSchool Hogwarts]] are sorted into Houses. As this sorting is based on the students' traits, this can lead to [[BirdsOfAFeather people with similar personalities and even similar backgrounds being grouped together]]. However, there are exceptions. For instance, Parvati and Padma Patil are identical twins, but in the book series, Parvati ended up in Gryffindor and Padma in Ravenclaw. Slytherin is typically the alma mater for [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Pure-Blood supremacists]], but does admit half-blooded and muggle born students. In fact, the most [[EvilOverlord infamous member]] of this house was [[BoomerangBigot half-blooded himself]].
* ''Literature/PrincessesOfThePizzaParlor'': The titular party comes about because they were stuck at school and left together, as the only students there.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': While Westeros doesn't have an organized school system, it does have the Citadel that is responsible for training [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Maesters]]. As the Citadel is an egalitarian institution, at least on paper, the Lowborn trainees are allowed to study alongside noble trainees. Once their training is done, the Citadel sends Maesters across Westeros to serve the nobility. This placement is supposed to be random and impartial. This is why an [[ProudWarriorRace Ironborn]] will [[Literature/TalesOfDunkAndEgg serve in the Reach]], or a [[FeudingFamilies Lannister will serve in the North]].
* ''Literature/TheSilverChair'': While Creator/CSLewis goes into LemonyNarrator mode to indicate his disapproval of the "mixed" school Experiment House, the fact remains Eustace and Jill would never have met if they hadn't both been sent there.

* The three main characters of ''Literature/ThePoisonApples'' have hardly anything in common besides having [[WickedStepmother Wicked Stepmothers]]: Alice is a LonelyRichKid from Brooklyn Heights, Reena is a LovableAlphaBitch from Beverly Hills and Molly is a nerd from the middle of nowhere. What brings them together? BoardingSchool.

* ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'' starts with Conner, Ethan, and Kira getting stuck in detention. And frankly, the teacher Dr. Oliver is as stuck as they are since he had other plans that afternoon. So he brings the students along on his errand, and the three end up stumbling across some {{Power Crystal}}s...
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer:'' The first season, our titular heroine meets all of the main cast, including her Watcher, when she transfers into dear old Sunnydale High. Except [[Series/{{Angel}} this one cute-but-mysterious guy she only sees at night....]]
* Mostly averted on ''Series/HeadOfTheClass'', since the show revolves around a class of gifted students who largely have a fair bit in common. Played straight with a few examples, however, such as later addition T.J., who had a reputation for being a troublemaker until it was realized that she was just bored and needed the extra push that the gifted class could give her.

* The trope is invoked in ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' Most of the killing games involve classes of students being forced to kill each other within a school setting. In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', this is heavily exploited by the mastermind. None of the students knew each other prior to waking up in the school and all have drastically different personalities and backgrounds. Nonetheless, they form relationships with each other during their stay. After TheReveal, [[spoiler:it turns out the characters were originally fans who auditioned to be on the killing game reality show ''Danganronpa'', and had their personalities and memories fabricated to satisfy the audience]].

* The people who make up the ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeGhostbusters'' team were the four students (a [[MrFixIt mechanical genius]], a wheelchair-bound LovableJock, [[TheSlacker a slacker]], and a Gloomy {{Goth}}) who signed up for Egon's class at community college and were pressed into service when a supernatural crisis occurred. Despite the initial friction due to their different backgrounds, they soon became an effective team of 'busters.
* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' with Gallus, Ocellus, Sandbar, Silverstream, Smolder, and Yona. They ''met'' at the School of Friendship, but then it was closed indefinitely by the EEA. It was them hanging out outside of school and becoming friends on their own that convinced Twilight Sparkle to say ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem and reopen the school, thus {{invert|edTrope}}ing the trope.
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A common problem in fiction is to get a group of people with differing backgrounds and contrasting personalities together. When writing characters who are children or teenagers, there's a simple solution: Have the school system force them together in some way. They could be placed in the same class or have to do a group project. Perhaps they could all have detention at the same time. Maybe they bond over their mutual hatred of the school system or enjoyment of school. This trope doesn't work all the time - for instance, children from rich families might be sent to private schools and won't have the same opportunity to interact with poorer kids. Kids who grow up in different neighborhoods may go to different schools. However, in general, schools can be used as a way to get characters from different backgrounds to form friendships. If these bonds last into adulthood, this becomes EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether.

* Played with in how Music/{{SCANDAL|Band}} started. The girls were in differing grades at their music school Caless when the call was made by the school asking for volunteers to create a rock band. The inital make-up of the band was Haruna, Tomomi and Mami. Days after the first three members, Rina was accepted and the band would eventually be named SCANDAL.

* Played with in how Music/{{Scandal}} started. The girls were in differing grades at their music school Caless when the call was made by the school asking for volunteers to create a rock band. The inital make-up of the band was Haruna, Tomomi and Mami. Days after the first three members, Rina was accepted and the band would eventually be named SCANDAL.

* The three main characters of ''Literature/ThePoisonApples'' have hardly anything in common besides having [[WickedStepmother Wicked Stepmothers]]: Alice is a LonelyRichKid from Brooklyn Heights, Reena is a LovableAlphaBitch from Beverly Hills and Molly is an ExtravertedNerd from the middle of nowhere. What brings them together? BoardingSchool.

* In ''Literature/AreYouThereGodItsMeMargaret'' Margaret (after her class acts out out) is made to sit between to ClassClown Freddy Barnett and [[SlutShaming "bad girl"]] Laura Danker. She later has to do a group project with Laura, Philip Leroy, and Norman Fishbein, which means sitting together and talking; Margaret, who has been believing all the rumors about Laura Danker, is upset at this. She also is irritated that Philip doesn't help at all, her AbhorentAdmirer Norman reads moving his lips, and [[SkewedPriorities the project is on Belgium, which she thinks is boring]]. She eventually takes her frustrations out on Laura while they're at the library, and [[WhatTheHellHero Laura calls her out on it.]]

* In ''Literature/AreYouThereGodItsMeMargaret'' Margaret (after her class acts out out) is made to sit between to ClassClown Freddy Barnett and [[SlutShaming "bad girl"]] Laura Danker. She later has to do a group project with Laura, Philip Leroy, and Norman Fishbein, which means sitting together and talking; Margaret, who has been believing all the rumors about Laura Danker, is upset at this. She also is irritated that Philip doesn't help at all, her AbhorentAdmirer Norman reads moving his lips, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the project is on Belgium, which she thinks is boring]]. She eventually takes her frustrations out on Laura while they're at the library, and [[WhatTheHellHero Laura calls her out on it.]]

* in ''Literature/AreYouThereGodItsMeMargaret'' Margaret (after her class acts out out) is made to sit between to ClassClown Freddy Barnett and Laura Danker. She later has to do a group project with Laura, Philip Leroy, and Norman Fishbein, which means sitting together and talking; Margaret, who has been believing all the rumors about Laura Danker, is upset at this.She also is irritated that Philip doesn't help and her AbhorentAdmirer Norman reads moving his lips. She eventually takes this out on Laura while they're at the library, and [[WhatTheHellHero Laura calls her out on it.]]

* ''LightNovel/MyYouthRomanticComedyIsWrongAsIExpected'' reunited three students: [[TheHermit Hachiman Hikigaya]], [[IceQueen Yukino Yukinoshita]] and [[GenkiGirl Yui Yuigahama]] (a lesser member of the GirlPosse), to work together as a team in the Service Club. They eventually become FireForgedFriends with the time [[spoiler:and ultimately, an unwanted LoveTriangle.]]

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}}, the loosely organised training coven for teenage Witches brings together girls of widely differing outlooks and personalties, from the AlphaBitch Annagramma Hawkin to the quiet and reflective Tiffany Aching.

* This forms the set-up of ''Videogame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'', where Class VII is an attempt to integrate students from various social classes, ranging from varying levels of nobility, middle class (including ones from wealthy backgrounds) and even war orphans and foreigners as part of the prince's plan to solve the class division that plagues the nation. While they naturally start off on rocky footing, through their various adventures they forge an unbreakable bond and consider each other as close as family.

* ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': According to Milfeulle, she and Ranpha met in the space academy and have been friends since then. For Ranpha it was more that [{TheRival she tried to compete with Milfie]] only to end up falling behind [[BornLucky due to the latter's luck]]. [[UnknownRival Milfie had no idea Ranpha saw her as her rival at all]].

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* The trope is invoked in ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' Most of the killing games involve classes of students being forced to kill each other within a school setting. In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', this is heavily exploited by the mastermind. None of the students knew each other prior to waking up in the school and all have drastically different personalities and backgrounds. Nonetheless, they form relationships with each other during their stay. After TheReveal, [[spoiler:it turns out the characters were originally fans who auditioned to be on the killing game reality show ''Danganronpa'', and had their personalities and memories fabricated to satisfy the audience]].
[[/folder]]

* This happens in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', where Huntress teams are essentially formed at random and spend their entire school career together. [[LovableAlphaBitch Weiss]] never would have had anything to do with [[NaiveEverygirl Ruby]] or [[BrokenBird Blake]] if she had any choice. In fact, during their introductory trial run, Weiss actually tried to walk away from Ruby, but seeing that her only other option was [[NaiveNewcomer Jaune]], she reluctantly joined Ruby.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' with Gallus, Ocellus, Sandbar, Silverstream, Smolder, and Yona. They ''met'' at the School of Friendship, but then it was closed indefinitely by the EEA. It was them hanging out outside of school and becoming friends on their own that convinced Twilight Sparkle to say ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem and reopen the school. In other words [[InvertedTrope Us Forced the School Together]].

* This can very easily happen in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', given that teams are essentially formed at random and spend their entire school career together. [[LovableAlphaBitch Weiss]] never would have had anything to do with [[NaiveEverygirl Ruby]] or [[BrokenBird Blake]] if she had any choice otherwise. In fact, during their introductory trial run, Weiss actually tried to walk away from Ruby, but seeing that her only other option was [[NaiveNewcomer Jaune]], she reluctantly joined Ruby.

* This can very easily happen in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', given that teams are essentially formed at random and spend their entire school career together. [[LovableAlphaBitch Weiss]] never would have had anything to do with [[NaiveEverygirl Ruby]] or [[BrokenBird Blake]] if she had any choice otherwise.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'', the protagonists, Kris and Susie, are put together in a group for a project. The story starts after they are both sent to retrieve chalk.
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