The name of the school was Thomas Tompion Comprehensive School. Tompion (1639-1713) was a renowned mechanician, regarded as the father of English clockmaking. He constructed some of the first spring-balanced watches, and some of the timepieces he made are still operational.
John Cleese described this movie as the only time he was ever sent a truly wonderful script for a lead. He said the last two or three minutes was the only thing wrong with the movie. He was full of praise for screenwriter Michael Frayn, describing him as one of his heroes, but they disagreed on the ending, with Cleese wanting it to be more positive for Stimpson.
Laura Wisely's father never speaks a word in the entire movie, despite appearing in several scenes.
For this movie, John Cleese won the "Peter Sellers Award for Comedy" at the Evening Standard British Film Awards in 1987.