Has anyone noticed how similar Hogwarts is to the English school system?

GCSEs taken at 16 = OWLs.
A-Levels taken at 18 = NEWTs.

the house system: my old school had houses named after 4 explorers, and my friend's school where she teachers is so big that they have 6 houses named after significant people (Mandela, Austin, Drake etc).

thats really awesome!. do you really live there during the school year and everything too? i wish i could of went to a school like that. ive always wanted too.

usually people go to day schools. but there are school where people live in the schools during term time, they're called boarding schools.

the uniforms they wear at hogwarts are so similar to my old uniform at school too, apart from the stripey ties! haha

I understood a long time ago, that Hogwarts was a lot like real British boarding schools. I even think it's supposed to be that way.

The only thing about Hogwarts, that I find lacking, is how few "normal" subjects they have. There are no English or Foreign languages classes (except Anicent Runes). Neither is there any Maths class, except for perhaps Arithmancy, but that's only an elective class from the 3rd year on. They have a History class though (albeit only from a magic perspective and with a very boring teacher), and I guess Potions pretty much is a wizard's Chemistry. Science maybe wouldn't be needed, as magic can overrule all laws of physics. They have an Astronomy class though, and Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures cover a lot, that muggles would learn in Biology class. But what about Geography and Social studies, or Music and Arts?

I understand why JKR did it that way though, because it probably was more fun to her to write about unusual classes, which don't exist in muggle schools. What would be the most normal of Harry's subjects at Hogwarts, Astronomy and History, are also the ones, which we hear the least about. But if you think about it, isn't it a little bit weird, that young wizards and witches are supposed to do without so many subjects, which are so common in Muggle schools?

yeah that is crazy i've never thought about it in that way before..
altough there is a lot of common subjects muggle schools could do without. like i wish we had a choice and they werent all required.

Of course there are similarities. JK used our real schooling system to create how Hogwarts worked. Even the way that there you do all classes until your third year - where you pick other classes/drop classes - (Just like the start of Year 9) is similar to the way our schools run.

I think that connection between Hogwarts and real british schools makes it either much easier or much more confusing for non-brits to understand how our schools work... XD

You make a fair point, but hogwarts is a school of Wizardry and not the mundane subjects. However, the maths and English lessons would still have come into play at Hogwarts, even if you don't realise it. Teaches would have graded essays for both grammar and content; therefore helping the students with their English as the went through the school. Potions and Arithmancy probably would have helped with the mathematical side of things. However, I always thought that other than the basics (add, subtract, multiply and divide) Wizards wouldn't need much else in terms of maths... They have Magic to do everything else they'd need the subject for. They wouldn't need calculus or the numerical value of Pi.

When I read the books, I always imagined that the things like the three R's would have been taught by the parents in the child's younger days, then as I just mentioned, the other things would've been pushed along with the homework and essay writing. Foreign languages you mention? Think about the spells. You'd need a slight understanding of latin to remember all of those spells and what they do.

Personally speaking, I don't think it's weird that there's no set English, Maths or French class. Mostly because I simply think that Hogwarts doesn't need them, but also for the other points that I've made in my post.

Hogwarts students can choose to stop taking some classes after they've taken their OWLs. I guess there's a similar system in real British schools? (Edit: Yep, Nixy pretty much confirmed that.)

I see what you mean, but I still think many ordinary school subjects would be needed even for wizards and witches. They should at least have taken them for the first five years at Hogwarts, after which they could stop taking the classes, that they didn't think were that important to them. But like I said in my last post, I understand why JKR did what she did.

I totally agree with the owls being done at the same age that o levels and a levels taken at the same age that newts are taken as for the houses it could be but I wouldn't know since I never whent to boarding school....

They do houses in state schools too. It makes it easier for the school to hold assemblies with the students. Especially in big schools. This way they can split the school into groups. The sorting is random though, and without ceremonies of any sort. The only team spirit of the houses system really is through house points and sports days.

I wish our schools across the pond over here in the U.S. were more like Hogwarts! We don't have houses or anything cool like that.

Yeah, I can see a lot of similarities. Like the houses thing (though my school has 5 houses) and the O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts. I've always thought of them as the Wizarding equivalent of GCSEs and A-Levels. The age thing is the same too, 11-18, which is like my school in England

I don't really know much about boarding schools, but my friend went to one and I think they're often in big old buildings and quite traditional.

The Hogwarts uniform is similar to my school's as well, striped tie, skirt, jumper etc (except we can't wear trousers and mine is an all girls school) and I don't think any/many schools in the USA and other parts of the world wear uniform.

I'm currently reading GoF again and I noticed the way the Hogwarts students laughed at the Beauxbatons students standing up as Madam Maxime came in, which is slightly intresting as I imagined the Hogwarts students maybe doing so themselves, we have to stand up when a teacher walks in at my school.

Yep, it was intentional.

Of course it was, no offence but Harry Potter is an British thing To me it would be so wrong if they were in LA wearing bikinis under their uniform or whatever...

Harry Potter is very British and it is highly influenced on British schools, but the influences JK took to create Hogwarts (the school it is based on) follows the same as all British schools, though much more selective. As for exams, absolutley, I totally agree with the Nastily Exhausting side to them, as A-Levels are definatley the struggle.

The uniform is quite old school, and not many schools stick to that theme and in quite a few "sixth-form"s/colleges (ie sixth and seventh year) don't have a uniform. I certainly didn't have a uniform anything like the Hogwarts one. Wish I did, but still....

And there aren't that many boarding schools, I don't go to one so I can't comment, but my cousin tells me its nothing like Hogwarts

And I have a house. But its more for organisational purposes, my cousin's boarding school had a system with houses more like Hogwarts than most schools, particulary state schools

I go to a Grammar School and we have houses, they are very important in the school, and making friends outside of your house is extremly important to the teachers. My school really reminds me of Hogwarts, there are some who always get into trouble and actually are twins! They are great at pranks! In some ways, Hogwarts is exactly like my own school, but in others not, for example it is not a boarding school, but is selective of students just like Hogwarts. I'm not sure if other schools are like mine, they may be, they may not, but my friend also thinks the same as me.

Hogwarts is similiar to the real world schools but we have no magics I hope there were a school like hogwarts where we find the magic

My school couldn't be more different from Hogwarts.

I want to go to Hogwarts...:'(

I want to go to hogwarts, not to my stupid school for muggles!