James May was born in Bristol. Besides him there were three other children in the family: an older sister, Jane, a younger sister, Sarah, and a brother. As a child his family moved frequently around the country. He first attended Caerleon Primary School near Newport in south Wales. He spent his youth in South Yorkshire, where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham; by coincidence, Jeremy Clarkson also began his journalistic career in that same town.

In addition, at school he studied with Dean Andrews, star of the series Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. As a child he was a chorister at Whiston Parish School. An excellent flautist and pianist, he later studied music at Lancaster University, where he was a member of Pendle College.