Fifth year

A Fifth Year is a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who is in their fifth year of magical education. Fifth Years are typically fifteen to sixteen years of age.

The fifth year is enormously important for students due to the fact that it is the year in which they must sit their O.W.L. exams, which will determine what N.E.W.T. courses they will be permitted to take later on in their education. The fifth year is also the year in which students receive career counseling from their Heads of House. It is during this meeting that they will be advised as to what N.E.W.T.-level classes they should take in order to qualify for their desired career. Fifth year classes consist of Potions, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Astronomy, Charms, and two or more electives.

Every year, one male and female Fifth Year student per House is selected to become a Prefect by the professor who was appointed Head of the House in which they are. They would likely continue to be Prefects in their sixth and seventh years.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix