[HPFGU-OTChatter] Boarding School Spectators

[Queer as John]

wynnde1 at aol.com said:

> At a Muggle boarding school in the United Kingdom, how many non-resident
> spectators could one expect to see coming to, for example, a football or
> rugby match? I'm asking, because we have that canon statistic of 800
> spectators at the Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch match in PoA. So I'm trying
> to guess how many of those are really Hogwarts students, based on what would
> happen at a Muggle boarding school under similar circumstances. Would parents
> turn up to watch their children play football at an inter-house sporting
> event? Or would the crowd really consist almost entirely of students,
> teachers and other staff?

Hi Wendy --

I went to boarding school (finished in 1999) in the UK, so I hope I can
answer your question.

First off, though, I should point out that the JKR image of boarding school
is entirely imagined -- drawing, I believe, on the rose-tinted literary
image of schools created by Enid Blyton et al in the 1950s.

That said, I do remember there being a sizeable parental contingent for home
matches -- of a school of just under 400 students, there were usually about
50 or so parents watching the first XV rugby or the first XI cricket in
inter-school matches. I was there too, but it wasn't the sport I was
interested in! *wink wink, nudge nudge*

Bear in mind that Hogwarts as an institution is very prominent in the minds
of wizarding society -- as are house allegiances. That's probably why so
many people turn up for inter-house Quidditch, whereas very few -- if any --
parents turned up for inter-house Muggle sports.

Cheers, and I hope this helps with your question,

--John

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