Battle/Cloak/Apparate/Dobby/TMR/Virus/Shun/Boggart/Animagi/Squib//Bill/Sn

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 168479

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Jordan Abel" <random832 at ...> wrote:

Geoff:
> > I have a suspicion that you may be viewing this from a US point of
> > view. JKR has based Hogwarts on a British style public school. Most
> > schools of this type would probably have a school roll in the 500-
> > 800 range; just maybe up to 1000. You wouldn't get ANY UK
> > school with an enrolment anywhere near 3000.

A.N.Other 
> How many are in castles this size?
> 
> I can buy that the founders never imagined there'd be so many. But if
> they're not hurting for space why would they build another one or
> whatever when there's just been the one for a millennium?
> 
> I don't see any reason to think there aren't 1000 students at hogwarts.

Geoff:
True, but contrarywise there is no reason to think that there 
/are/ 1000 students.

Hogwarts is a very old school and, if it's anything like its real 
world English counterparts, it originally only catered for the 
upper classes which would make the enrolment small.

Today, or at least in the ealry 1990s, we know that the houses 
sat at one of four tables. I accept that when Harry first entered 
the Hall, he was aware of 'the hundreds of facs staring at them" 
(PS "The Sorting Hat" p.87 UK edition). However, I find the thought 
of maybe 250 pupils sitting at one long table something of a 
logistical nightmare.

My other argument is that, nowhere in canon as far as I can see, 
does JKR provide enough staff for a school that size.

When I first started teaching, I was in a school of 400 boys in 
South London. Half my timetable was Science - the other half 
being Maths - and there was a full-time Science teacher as well.
So we needed one and a half staff to cover all the Science for just 
400.

Take as an example, Snape. It appears that he is the only Potions 
teacher; there is no mention of him sharing classes or a classroom 
with anyone else. I get an impression that Potions lessons only held 
20-25 students. To cover a student body of 1000 would need about 
40 lessons in a week. But potions lessons appear to be double 
periods so does our Professor work night shifts as well? And no 
marking periods?

I agree there seems to be a lot of space available. For instance, we 
know that there is the third floor corridor on the right-hand side 
where I would imagine there are some rooms and there is also 
the room containing the Mirror of Erised.

If JKR has said that there are 1000 students (and I haven't checked 
this out) then there are but drawing on my experience of UK school 
sizes, I seriously doubt a larger student population than that as a 
maximum for a school like Hogwarts.