Tweaking Hogwarts

[mooseming]

In the books so far JKR has tweaked events in the school so that the 
atmosphere changes enough to make each year slightly different and 
therefore interesting. Also she has used generic school institutions 
for dramatic effect eg. houses, sports, after school clubs, 
interschool competitions, detentions.

I've been wondering what she could introduce to make the school 
subtly different for the next two years and what institutions she 
has still to take advantage of.

In my school experience for the first 5 years we belonged to a form 
(we didn't have houses) to which we were assigned on the first day 
of school. All our timetabling was based on which form we belonged 
to, for some classes we might combine with other forms but for the 
most part there was not much inter form mixing. A great many of our 
school contemporaries remained relatively unknown to us. Some inter 
form friendships did exist but they tended to be based on 
relationships developed outside of school or through hobby groups.

On entering the last two years (called collectively the 6th form, 
lower and upper, just to confuse you) this all changed. As students 
concentrated on fewer subjects the classes were made up of a 
different mix of people, which form you had previously belonged to 
no longer applied.

Will JKR will follow this model and can we look forward to some new 
dynamics between characters and houses?

In the 6th form we also gained greater freedom, we had free lessons 
(where we were supposed to study in the library), could leave the 
school grounds during the school day and were taken on field trips.

Also we were encouraged to engage in work experience and attend 
careers fairs.

On the social side there was the 6th form common room, the debating 
society and of course the ghastly school disco.

What use, if any can JKR make of the above? The field trip and work 
experience have potential for me.

Although not directly associated with the 6th form JKR still has to 
explore the possibilities of the school play.

In the bigger picture we might expect to see greater security, 
political canvassing, mass hysteria and propaganda wars. More 
items/people might be hidden in the school grounds for safekeeping.

Does any of the above strike people as having `legs', which and why?

What other devices could JKR use to liven up the school for us?

Regards
Jo