# of Students Each Year

[vjmerri]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C6350
From: vjmerri
Subject: Re: # of Students Each Year
Reply To: [Yahoo! #6265] # of Students Each Year
Date: 8/9/00 12:32 am  (ET)

I wanted to wait to respond to this until I could repeat some previous
posts, but if I do that the subject will be lost.

Penny had a number of good points, and I agree with her that there
probably aren't _exactly_ 5 boys and girls, or even 10 students in each
house / class. In fact, we only know for sure of three griffindor girls
of Harry's class. Since the sorting hat selects for reasons and not
just to divy up the students, there are bound to be variations in each
student class.

Also, its amazing what one can find when one is thinking about it while
reading.

In book two (which is the source of the venomous tentaculas I mentioned
last night, not book three)
JKR writes "the dormitory room flew open and in came ___the other second
year griffindor boys___"

Now she could have said "in came the dorm's other second years. . ." or
"in came the rest of Harry and Ron's Dorm mates" or "in came some of the
second year griffindor boys. . ." but she chose to phrase it as she did,
which does imply that the 5 of them are all there are.

Now that is not entirely dispositive. However, on the first day of class
the Griffindors have "double herbology with the Hufflepuffs." On page 91
of the US edition, JKR writes "about twenty pairs of different-colored
earmuffs were lying on the bench." Now everyone in that class plus
Professor Sprout needed a pair of earmuffs, and JKR clearly states that
there are about twenty pairs.

This seems to me pretty clear evidence, along with what has already been
mentioned, that there are only about 10 students per class per house,
probably between 8 - 15 as Penny suggests.

There are only six Quidditch matches a year (at least that count for
the school cup) and it makes sense that since Quidditch is so wildly
popular they have a lot than just students attending the game. We have
a lot more than just students attending US college Football games,
and its not as intensely popular as Quiditch seems to be.

I think JKR has written fairly specifically that this is not a large
school, and has maybe 300 or so students. It would definitely be a good
question to ask her in an interview.

vicki