Hogwarts Student Population/Admittance to Hogwarts

[serenadust]

No: HPFGUIDX 45288

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

Presenting evidence against Kateydidnt2002's assertion that Hermione 
was born in 1980:
> 
> 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.


In addition to the evidence Ali presents above, Hermione 
states, "I've heard he's a very good student - *and* he's a Prefect."
(GoF, chapter 15).  There's no way Cedric Diggory was held back to 
repeat a year.  Even Crabbe and Goyle get promoted every year, and 
they are portrayed as being extremely stupid.  Marcus Flint is 
probably the only student in Hogwarts history to have had to repeat, 
and that was probably only in order to correct a slip-up on JKR's 
part.

Also, we have Angelina Johnson as being another student to have 
turned 17 shortly before Halloween in GoF, enabling her to 
legitimately put her name in to enter the Triwizard Tournament.  
It's true that we don't really know from canon whether she's a sixth 
or seventh year student, but I've always assumed that she was in the 
same year as Fred & George.  We will find out for sure when book 5 
comes out, because if she's still at Hogwarts then, she will be our 
first confirmed example of a student being "old" for her year.


Jo Serenadust, who can't wait to see this issue put to rest in OOP