Weatherfield is a fictional town based on Salford, Greater Manchester, which has been the setting for the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street since its inception in 1960. Much of Weatherfield has been seen by viewers throughout the years, though the primary focus from the viewer's perspective is the eponymous Coronation Street, a cobbled street where many of the programme's characters live. The soap opera is often shot on location around Salford and the neighbouring large city of Manchester, as its filming studios, the Granada Studios complex on Quay Street in Manchester city centre (which closed in 2013) and its replacement set MediaCityUK in Salford Quays (opened in 2014), only house the outdoor sets of Coronation Street and its immediate surrounding streets.

As part of the 2010 Children in Need charity appeal, Weatherfield became twinned with Walford in a special programme uniting the two soaps, Coronation Street and EastEnders, called East Street.

Education Bessie Street Primary School

Formerly "Bessie Street Mixed Infants" and "Bessie Street Juniors", "Bessie Street Primary School" is the main institution for primary education in Weatherfield.

Headteachers: Wilfred Perkins (1972–1974) Mrs Nandhra (2010) Miss Muirhouse (2014) Brian Packham (2011–2013) Mrs Glover (2014) Melinda Calvert (2018–)

Many of the characters in the programme attended Bessie Street as children – before and after the programme was created and began broadcasting. These include Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth), Ken Barlow (William Roache), Dennis Tanner (Philip Lowrie), Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford), Nick Tilsley (Ben Price), Sarah-Louise Platt (Tina O'Brien), David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd), Chesney Brown (Sam Aston), Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon), Joshua Peacock (Benjamin Beresford), Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney), Simon Barlow (Alex Bain), Asha Alahan (Tanisha Gorey), Aadi Alahan (Zennon Ditchett) and Max Turner (Harry McDermott).

Some characters have also worked there, notably Ken who took his first teaching job at Bessie Street in 1961, the year after the series began. He worked there intermittently until 1974.Little. (2000) p.13. Esther Hayes (Daphne Oxenford), who lived at No. 5 Coronation Street until 1962, also worked as a teacher at the school.Little. (2000) p.20. The role of lollipop man at Bessie Street has been held by Albert, Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington), Jack Duckworth (Bill Tarmey) and most recently Dennis and Malcolm Lagg (Robert Fyfe). The headteacher was Brian Packham (Peter Gunn), but he has been replaced. Melinda Calvert (Janet Dibley) is currently the headteacher of Bessie Street.

Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) goes to see his son, Simon, perform in the nativity play in December 2008; however, he is refused entry for being drunk. He fights his way through and ruins the play. In 2013, Kylie Platt (Paula Lane) arrives drunk at her son Max's nativity play and the Platt family is removed immediately when Kylie tries to drag Max off the stage. In June 2014, Kylie and her husband, David, are called in as Max has been disruptive during lessons. This later leads to him being diagnosed with ADHD.

Coronation Street residents currently attending the school are Jack Webster (Kyran Bowes), Ruby Dobbs (Macy Alabi), Jake Windass (Bobby Bradshaw), Lily Platt (Brooke Malonie), and Joseph Brown (William Flanagan).

Weatherfield High School

Headteachers: Sue Jeffers (1990–1997) Mrs Paton (2000) Miss Johnson (2002) Mrs Crawshaw (2021–present) Formerly "Weatherfield Comprehensive School", "Weatherfield High School" is the main institution for secondary education in Weatherfield. The school provides education for pupils aged 11–18.

Lucille Hewitt (Jennifer Moss) is the first character to sit her O-level examinations at the newly formed Weatherfield Comprehensive in 1965Little. (2000) p.35. after the amalgamation of the Weatherfield School for Girls and the Weatherfield Boys' School.

The school rarely features until Ken Barlow returns to teaching in 1991, taking a post in the English department. By this time, a teenage Tracy Barlow is a pupil at the school, along with Steve (Simon Gregson) and Andy McDonald (Nicholas Cochrane). Nick Tilsley (played by Warren Jackson and later Adam Rickitt) attends from 1992 to 1997. Derek Wilton (Peter Baldwin) works as a caretaker at the school for a short time in the early 1990s. The school is referred to as 'Weatherfield Comp' in many scripts but since 2004, the school has been known as 'Weatherfield High'.

Other former pupils include Jenny Bradley (Sally Ann Matthews) (during the 1980s), Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) (towards the end of the 1990s), Sarah-Louise Platt (Tina O'Brien) (who attended from 1998 to 2003), Candice Stowe (Nikki Sanderson), Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) and Aiden Critchley (Dean Ashton) who attended around the same time. Since the year 2000, pupils to have attended the school include Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan), David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd), Amber Kalirai (Nikki Patel) and Craig Harris (Richard Fleeshman). In 2004, Violet Wilson (Jenny Platt) is identified as a former pupil of Ken Barlow (William Roache) and sometimes still refers to him as "sir". Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent), Chesney Brown (Sam Aston), Sian Powers (Sacha Parkinson), Ryan Connor (Ben Thompson) and Ben Richardson (Lucien Laviscount) all leave the school after taking their exams in Year 11. Recent graduates of the school include Craig Tinker (Colson Smith), Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon), Faye Windass (Ellie Leach) and Simon Barlow (Alex Bain).

The characters in Coronation Street currently attending the school now are Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney), Max Turner (Harry McDermott, Paddy Bever) and Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby).

Scenes at Weatherfield High School are filmed on location at Oasis Academy MediaCityUK in Salford.

Oakhill School

Weatherfield's only private school is in the Oakhill area of the town.

The school first appears in the programme in 1993, when Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) offers to pay for his estranged son Mark Redman (Christopher Cook) to be educated there.Little. (2000) p.212. In 2004, Oakhill reappears when Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan) is accepted at the school, where she studies for her GCSEs. In 2020, Asha (Tanisha Gorey) and Aadi Alahan (Adam Hussain) transferred to Oakhill after Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) moved them from Weatherfield High, hoping it would solve the problem of Asha's explicit video going viral.

Scenes at Oakhill School are filmed on location at Cheadle Hulme School.

Weatherfield Polytechnic/University

Jenny Bradley (Sally Ann Matthews) briefly attends here, along with her friend and housemate Flick Khan. Jenny studies biology until she is expelled for neglecting her work. It is later attended by Andy McDonald (Nicholas Cochrane), by which time it has been reclassified as a university under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Andy is successful in his studies, graduating with a lower second class honours degree.

Local press Weatherfield has its own local newspaper, The Weatherfield Gazette. A free local newspaper existed in the programme until 1990, known as The Weatherfield Recorder.Little. (2000) p.195. Weatherfield also has a tabloid newspaper called The Daily Pulse.

Local shops and businesses

D&S Alahan's Corner Shop

D&S Alahan's Corner Shop is situated at 15 Coronation Street and is on the junction to Viaduct Street. It was owned by Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) and Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati), until the death of Sunita in The Rovers Return fire in 2013; now it is solely owned by Dev. D&S Alahan's was hit by a tram in December 2010, while Sunita, Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns) and her baby Jack were inside. Jack and Sunita were subsequently saved but Molly died. The shop was closed for the beginning of 2011 but re-opened in late February. Until December 2010, the corner shop was the only business that had stood since the very first episode. Another notable storyline for D&S Alahan's involved Maya Sharma (Sasha Behar) setting fire to the shop in 2004, leading to an explosion while Dev and Sunita were in the flat above.

The Kabin

The Kabin is also at the junction of Coronation Street and Viaduct Street. The Kabin mainly sells newspapers, magazines, traditional sweets and seasonal goods (Christmas, Easter, Halloween). Originally opened by Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox) as the Korner Kabin on Rosamund Street, it moved to its current location in 1990. In late 2009, Rita sells The Kabin to employee Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden) so that she can go travelling. When she returns, she is re-employed by Norris. The Kabin, along with D&S Alahan's Corner Shop and The Joinery wine bar, is involved in the tram crash in December 2010. The tram rips through the shop and the flats above, with Rita inside the shop. After initially believing that Rita is out at a friend's, Norris and Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) raise the alarm and Rita is eventually rescued. In 2019, Norris announces to Rita that he is selling The Kabin and later sells it to Brian Packham (Peter Gunn) and Cathy Matthews (Melanie Hill). Rita then finds out and tells Brian she is quitting as she does not want to work for them. Brian and Cathy apologise to Rita and offer her the job of manageress. Since 2022, the business is rarely seen on screen.

Audrey's Salon

Audrey's Salon is a salon situated at the junction of Rosamund Street and Coronation Street. It was owned by Claudia Colby (Rula Lenska), Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) and Rita Tanner (Barbara Knox). 2 Coronation Street had been a hairdresser's salon since 1991, shortly after it was built. It was originally a charity shop run by Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) in 1990. Previous salon owners include Denise Osbourne (Denise Black) and Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls). The salon was closed in 2020 after Ray Crosby bought the shop and upstairs flat while trying to redevelop the street, but it re-opened again in 2022, as a focus for Audrey who had recently tried to kill herself.

Underworld

Underworld is the underwear factory situated on Coronation Street, which has employed many residents of Weatherfield. The company was founded by Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) as Baldwins Casuals but was later owned by Carla Connor (Alison King). After Mike died, his son's Danny Baldwin (Bradley Walsh) and Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson) sell their shares to Paul (Sean Gallagher) and Liam Connor (Rob James-Collier). After Paul's death, his wife, Carla, inherits his 60% share in the factory. Carla's new husband Tony Gordon (Gray O'Brien) purchases Liam's shares shortly before he dies but, after Tony is imprisoned for Liam's murder, Carla buys his shares. Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) purchases them in early 2010, then sells his 40% share back to Carla when the pair do not get along. In 2011, Frank Foster (Andrew Lancel) buys Nick's former share from Carla.