Hogwarts Student Population/Admittance to Hogwarts

[Ali]

No: HPFGUIDX 45278

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "kateydidnt2002" <kateydidnt2002 at y...> 
wrote:

 A second point: I believe that you are admitted to Hogwarts in the  
calender year in which you turn 11, meaning all students born in the 
year 1980 would start at Hogwarts in 1991.  Therefore, Ron was born 
on March 1, 1980; Harry July 31, 1980; Hermione September 19, 1980. 
This is supported by the fact that GoF clearly indicates that Fred 
and George turned 17 in April of their sixth year (Scholastic, 
hardcover pg 189)meaning that they were born in April of 1978 and  
entered Hogwarts in 1989 because that is the calendar year in which 
they turned eleven.

I say:-
 
Hmnn, this has been a much debated subject, but the fact remains that 
whatever we choose to believe canon is unclear on this point. I 
believe that JKR said in an interview that a magical quill at 
Hogwarts writes a young witch/wizard done in the year they are born. 
The evidence regarding when the children start, or whether they start 
according to the calendar or academic year is not clear.

In England and Wales (upon which JKR appears to base Hogwarts 
academic study), the school year begins in September. Children born 
before September 1st start school in the September after their 11th 
birthday. There are very few exceptions to this, although privately 
educated children sometimes jump a year (meaning their birthdays are 
after the September the 1st cutoff). If JKR followed this format then 
Hermione would in fact be born in September 1979. This is my prefered 
reading of the text. There is no mention of Hermione being a 
year "ahead" in the books, which I believe there would be if her 
birthday followed Harry's. It is sufficiently unusual to be worthy of 
comment, particularly given Hermione's obvious success at Hogwarts 
coupled with her Muggle-born status.

The alternate argument rests partly on the canon evidence that 
Dumbledore calls both Harry and Hermione "13 year old wizards" in the 
hospital scene in PoA. For my theory to be correct, Harry would 
indeed have been 13, but Hermione should have been 14.

Other canonical referencing points;-

Cedric is 17 when he enters the TriWizard tournament. He is also in 
the same year (the 6th year) as the twins who don't turn 17 until the 
following April. We are not told exactly when his birthday is, merely 
that he "was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen" (GoF p67 
UK paperback edition). As this  was when Harry & co meet him before 
the Quidditch World Cup; IMO it would not be a stretch for him to 
have his birthday a couple of weeks later. I think it very unlikely 
that Cedric was in the wrong year because he had to repeat a year. 
Firstly, this rarely happens in England (other than for GCSE & 
A'level repeats), and secondly for Cedric to be good enoough to 
represent Hogwarts he must have been the best student to enter, and 
this is unlikely if he had failed a year and was repeating.

Ali

Who must go now as her 2 year old has just wet herself -aagh