The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter (25 page)

Pigs (or hogs) and witches go way back. During the 1600s and 1700s, when witch hysteria peaked in the United States, the general public accepted without hesitation that witches flew through the air on the backs of rams or pigs; that witches were harming the pigs, cows, and crops of innocent neighbors; that a witch would steal a plump pig for a midday meal if she were passing by your farm; and that witches themselves had cloven hooves (a hoof split into two toes).

Witches were thought to have made a pact with the devil; it is not surprising, then, that pigs, goats, and rams (any animal with a cloven hoof) were thought to be Satanic. In the New Testament
,
Jesus sent demons into a herd of pigs, which then leapt to their deaths in a frenzy.

Hence we’re given the names of two prominent places in the wizarding world: Hogwarts School and Hogsmeade, the only all-wizard town in England. “Hogwarts” is especially inventive because it also uses the imagery of warts, which is how we historically picture witches, with prominent warts on their chins or noses.

Each year, the staff at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry selects a new class of potential students, drawing children from established wizarding families and Muggle children who show a penchant for wizardry. How the staff is aware of the talents of these children is unknown, but they just
know,
starting from the day children with wizard abilities are born
.

Invited students are sent letters the summer after Level 6 in the British education system, which is the equivalent to fifth grade in the United States. Letters tell candidates that they have been admitted (no one
applies
to Hogwarts; you’re either invited or you’re not), and students have to appear on September 1, bringing with them the required robes (plus a cloak and a hat), equipment (such as a cauldron, telescope, scale, and phials), work gloves, books, and a wand. Students are also allowed to bring a pet, but the only allowable pets are owls, cats, toads, and rats.

Other than the unique class offerings, ghosts, magical creatures, secret rooms, talking portraits, moving staircases, and a variety of other oddities discussed in this chapter, Hogwarts is strikingly similar to British exclusive prep schools. Some such schools are boarding schools just like Hogwarts, where students and teachers live on the grounds for the school year; others are day schools, in which students return home each evening. The top-tier schools, however, are boarding schools.

Like Hogwarts, many British boarding schools divide into houses, which compete for annual inter-house prizes as Best House by earning points in athletic events, debate, artistic endeavors, and/or academic competitions; by good behavior; and by raising money for or spending time working with charitable organizations. Houses allow students of various ages to interact and feel camaraderie; something that happens in most U.S. schools only through athletic or artistic extracurriculars. Select professors serve as Head of House or Housemaster.

British public schools often start students as young as age 3, working on rudimentary reading and writing. They enter Level 1 at around age 5 or 6, which is equivalent to the U.S. kindergarten. Although students are generally grouped into classes with other students who are the same age, they are sometimes allowed to progress at their own pace, regardless of age or class. Within classrooms, students are usually subgrouped by ability, with a specialized curriculum aimed at each group. The best girls’ boarding schools admit students after Level 6 (or fifth grade); this is how Hogwarts admits students, but they admit both boys and girls at this age. Boys’ schools generally begin later, after Level 8 (seventh grade).

As with British schools, Hogwarts has a headmaster or headmistress (sometimes called just a “Head” in British schools) who acts like a U.S. principal, but because most British public schools are boarding schools, Heads discipline 24/7 and know the students far better than do most principals.

British boarding schools usually assign the best and brightest students to act as Prefects, House Captains, and Head of School. The term
prefect
(a term used at Hogwarts) comes from the Latin
praefectus,
which means director, chief, or governor (
prae
means “put in front” or “put in charge”). In Hogwarts and other British boarding schools, prefects have great authority over other students, controlling and (sometimes) punishing students so that teachers can focus on their work. When a prefect is put in charge of an entire house, he or she may be called House Captain, a term not used at Hogwarts. The senior prefect is called the Head of School, or Head Boy/Head Girl, the latter of which is also used at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts students wear uniforms (in their case, black robes), as do all British boarding school students. The uniform varies, of course, but British students usually wear a blazer, pants or a skirt, a white shirt, and tie.

Hogwarts also has a prominent coat of arms, as do most British boarding schools:

Getting into the top British boarding schools is a bit different than the magical “knowing” approach that the Hogwarts staff employs. Instead, young Brits take the Common Entrance Examinations (CEE), usually at age 11 for girls and age 13 for boys. Each school has it own requirements for CEE scores, which test English, math, science, geography, history, religion, and languages. Results of this exam may also determine which classes students take for their first two or three years at the school.

Grouping students into houses is a long tradition at the best British boarding schools. Houses have names (often, as is the case with Hogwarts, houses are named for founders, but also for headmasters and significant alumni), and the names are usually shortened to the first letter of the name, like “G” or "P.” British houses, like those at Hogwarts, may have colors assigned to them, and students dress (in their ties or scarves) per their house colors.

The top British boarding schools all have numerous houses, which can either be actual “houses” (that is, separate structures on the school grounds) or may signify wings of the school in which students live (as is the case at Hogwarts).