Number of pupils at Hogwarts ?miscalculation?

[Heather Moore]

No: HPFGUIDX 30348

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Penny & Bryce <pennylin at s...> wrote:


 
>  Working from that assumption (which I think is  wrong 
> anyway as it should be about 300 total students, not 1000, based on 
the 
> preponderence of evidence in the books):

<snip maths based on 1000 students, results of which do not match 
Hannah's results> 

> 
> If you go to the Hogwarts FAQ, you'll see that we've spent hundreds 
of 
> messages discussing this topic.  Here's the URL again:
> 
> http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/faq/hogwarts.html
> 
> Penny


    This topic has mostly been done to exhaustion, but I wanted to 
make a quick comparison:

    The very general consensus about Hogwarts among readers is that it 
is specifically modeled on Gordonstoun, Prince Charles' alma mater. 
Gordonstoun is, of course, a super-exclusive boarding school near the 
town of Elgin in Scotland. I believe I recall reading that 
Gordonstoun is situated near a lake in a somewhat mountainous, rural 
region, which is also very similar to that described of Hogwarts in 
the books.  Gordonstoun's student population generally hovers around 
400 students - I've specifically read a population figure of 410.

 I still wonder if the student population we are shown as boarding at 
the castle is perhaps not the *entire* population of Hogwarts. Even 
the big 'G' fields a few boarding houses out in the village, whose 
students are generally regarded as day students at Gordonstoun. It 
would seem possible to me that when Hogwarts is running at full 
capacity, it isn't unreasonable to suggest that at least a portion of 
the sixth and seventh year students (who have completed their 
compulsory OWLs and moved on to their more flexible NEWT prep courses) 
move out of the castle and into boarding houses in Hogsmeade.  It 
still wouldn't come close to making up the difference between 300-400 
students *as shown* and 1000 students *as stated,* but it might help 
alleviate some of the cognitive dissonance. ;>

 -- Heather