It is advisable to use a VPN to secure your browsing habits wherever you may be. However, there are places wherein browsing the web is controlled and limited. Aside from countries where strict regulations of the Internet are imposed, some schools also restrict access to the Internet to anyone within campus premises.
Sure, school is where we learn the things we need in order to become competent in the profession we choose. Many institutions, however, are limiting and restricting Internet access to its students. Content that isn’t scholastically challenging is blocked. Streaming videos, chatting with friends, social media and occasional gaming are factors that are considered to have negative effects on the students’ focus towards learning.
Thus, access to the Internet at schools is usually restricted if not blocked. While many schools have an open Wi-Fi hotspot accessible to anyone, only informative websites are allowed, meaning access to YouTube, Facebook and other ‘non-academic’ stuff are blocked by the school administration.
Since Proxy services are also being blocked at school, the only choice is to use a VPN service. A VPN will allow you to unblock and bypass all kinds of restrictions imposed by the school, the ISP or even the government as well.
Why use a VPN for school?
Whether you’re trying to find research repositories, access study tools restricted by your network/government, watch Netflix, or just play online games, school networks are very good at blocking content. If you want to bypass these restrictions and, more importantly, don’t want the school to know what you’re doing, then a VPN is the way to go.
A VPN creates a tunnel around your Internet traffic, wrapping your usage and identity from prying networks, governments, websites and cybercriminals. On top of that, the right VPN can also help you:
- Get cheaper games online by buying them overseas.
- Unblock Netflix content from other countries, such as America, Britain and Japan.
- Access banned services in countries with massive censorship and surveillance.
- Prevent bandwidth throttling from your internet service provider (ISP).
- Prevent online tracking and tracing when accessing websites.
VPN for School
In terms of security features, a VPN is the better tool than a proxy service. Not only can VPN unblock restricted content at school, but it also improves your security and keeps your data as private as possible.
There are numerous VPN service providers in the industry and choosing the right one for your needs can be overwhelming. In order to bypass web filters at your school, first you need a reliable VPN service that is capable of unblocking the web anywhere you go.
Below is a list of some of the best VPNs for school. Our selection of these VPN providers was based on the overall performance and reliability, server stability and user recommendations.
NordVPN

- Based in Panama
- Total servers: 5,500+ servers in 58 countries
- Logs: No logs
- Support : 24/7 Live Chat
- Unblock Netflix : Yes
- Refund : 30 days
- Discount : NordVPN Coupon 64% off
ExpressVPN

- Based in: British Virgin Islands
- Total servers: 5,000+ servers in 59 countries
- Logs: No logs
- Support : 24/7 Live Chat
- Unblock Netflix : Yes
- Refunds : 30 days
- Discount : ExpressVPN Coupon 49% off
Surfshark

- Based in: Netherlands
- Total number of servers: 3,200+ Servers in 65 countries
- Logs: No logs
- Support : 24/7 Live Chat
- Unblock Netflix : Yes
- Refund : 30 days
- Discount : Coupon SurfsharkVPN 81% off
Can I get a free VPN for school?
If a paid VPN seems too expensive, there are many free VPN services available. However, we should note that not all free services will provide a secure service, and many have trouble bypassing restrictive networks. The reality is:
- Most free VPNs lack sufficient encryption and obfuscation (stealth) capabilities to bypass restrictive networks and government censorship.
- Free VPN services will operate a small number of servers that regularly become congested and are often monitored by restrictive networks and government censors.
- It is common for free VPN providers to monitor and sell users’ personal, usage and login data.
- Some free VPN services are known to infect devices with malware.
A good VPN doesn’t have to be expensive, and there are many cheap VPN services that provide excellent service. It’s important to find the one that best suits your needs and usage and go from there. If you’re still willing to get a free VPN, we recommend sticking to our recommendations linked at the beginning of this section for your own safety, as there are too many cowboy VPNs to do more harm than good.
How to set up a VPN on school WiFi?
Setting up a VPN is pretty straightforward for most, but there are a few methods you can use to achieve the same goal: Installation via an app store or by downloading the installation straight from your provider
If you can find your chosen VPN provider’s app on your device’s App Store, this is the easiest way to install that VPN:
- Subscribe to a VPN that suits you.
- Download and install its app on your preferred device. The services in the list above allow you to use it on multiple devices at once.
- Connect to a server.
- Leave the app running in the background and browse the Internet.
What to do if your VPN is not working on school WiFi?
If you are having trouble accessing websites or content, there are several reasons why. Here are some quick tips that will solve most problems:
- Check your VPN connection.
- Try another server (the content you want to access may not be available in that particular country).
- Uninstall and reinstall your VPN.
- Check your VPN account information.
- Check your internet connection.
- Contact your VPN provider (they may be able to resolve the issue).
If these methods do not resolve the problem, you should also consider another VPN provider (some free providers do not unblock content).