Wizarding school

A wizarding school (also called a magical school) was an educational institution which provided magical instruction to young witches and wizards.

There were eleven "long-established and prestigious" wizarding schools throughout the world. There were smaller wizarding schools, but these tended to be short-lived, and often not regulated.

However, most countries in the world did not have their own wizarding school. Magical children in these countries were typically homeschooled or educated via correspodence courses.

Range and regulation
The vast majority of countries in the world did not have their own wizarding school. Wizards and witches in these countries generally chose to homeschool their children instead. Correspondence courses were also sometimes used as a cost-effective method of providing magical instruction to young witches and wizards in countries with very small or isolated wizarding populations.

Wizarding schools generally only admitted students from the country in which they were based, but some served multiple nations or a broad geographical region, or at least were open to accepting international students on a selective basis. Uagadou, located in Uganda, accepted students from across Africa. Similarly, the Durmstrang Institute, although located in Northern Europe, was willing to accept students from as far away as Bulgaria and the United Kingdom (although it did not accept Muggle-borns). Thus, the school with the smallest number of students is Mahoutokoro, and the school with the most students is Uagadou.

The Educational Office of the International Confederation of Wizards was responsible for cataloging and overseeing wizarding schools around the world, including the eleven oldest, most respected ones. Smaller wizarding schools existed, but these were often short-lived and poorly-regulated, as most were not registered with the respective Ministry of Magic of the country in which they operated. The quality of magical education on offer at these smaller, unregistered institutions was thus questionable.

However, there seems to have been some smaller schools that were approved by the Educational Office, as Africa was reported to be home to "a number of smaller wizarding schools" in addition to Uagadou. The book An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe covered publicly available information on various wizarding schools in Europe.

Interaction between schools
Every five years, a competition known as the Triwizard Tournament was held between the three major European wizarding schools of Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Hogwarts. One champion was selected to represent each school (with the exception of the 1994 Triwizard Tournament, when Hogwarts ended up with two champions) to compete in an array of deadly challenges. The winning school received the Triwizard Cup.

The Wizarding Schools Potions Championship was held at unknown intervals between students of Hogwarts, Koldovstoretz, Mahoutokoro and Uagadou. The winning school received a golden cauldron.

Castelobruxo in Brazil offered student exchange programmes to pupils at wizarding schools in Europe. There was apparently also an international pen-friend programme in place for students of Castelobruxo and Hogwarts at one point. Bill Weasley wanted to take an exchange trip to Castelobruxo, but had to back out because his family could not afford the expense, leading his upset Castelobruxo pen-friend to send him a cursed hat.

Specialised schools
Outside of general education, the wizarding world offers specialised schools of learning as well. Such schools include the Academy of Broom Flying, Charm School, and the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Behind the scenes

 * The Salem Witches' Institute was once thought by some fans to be a wizarding school in the United States of America; J. K. Rowling has since said that the Salem Witches' Institute is a joke on the Women's Institutes in Britain.
 * Most wizarding school are located in mountainous regions. It is mostly because it is easier to hide them from Muggles. The only known exception so far is Castelobruxo in the Brazilian rainforest.
 * So far, there is only one known wizarding day school: Mahoutokoro in Japan. Though students older than ten have to board it.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
 * Harry Potter LEGO Sets
 * The Tales of Beedle the Bard (real)
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
 * Pottermore
 * Wonderbook: Book of Spells
 * Wonderbook: Book of Potions
 * Harry Potter for Kinect

Notes and references
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