How Old Are 1st Years at Hogwarts in the Wizarding World?
As a fellow passionate gamer and Harry Potter fan diving into Hogwarts Legacy, you may be curious: how old are first year students when they begin their magical journey at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? What is the age criteria for starting at the legendary school?
Let‘s break down everything we know about age and school years across the Harry Potter canon, books, movies, Portkey Games developer commentary, and the newly released Hogwarts Legacy roleplaying game.
First Years in Original Harry Potter Canon
In J.K. Rowling‘s original book series, first year students are consistently portrayed as 11 to 12 years old. Protagonist Harry Potter himself receives his Hogwarts admission letter right before turning 11 years old, as Hogwarts letters are written and delivered close to a child‘s 11th birthday:
"Yer name‘s been down ever since ya were born. An‘ I reckon it‘s abou‘ time yeh read yer letter." – Rubeus Hagrid
This suggests admission is contingent on turning 11 years old by September 1st in order to attend Hogwarts in a given school year. Students start their first year at age 11 and finish their seventh year by age 17 or 18 according to canonical lore across the book series.
Age Breakdown by Hogwarts Year
The Harry Potter Wiki provides a detailed breakdown of character birth years matched to the school years they would have been in while studying at Hogwarts:
| Hogwarts Year | Age Range | Birth Year Range |
|---|---|---|
| First Years | 11-12 years old | 1981-1982 to 1991-1992 |
| Second Years | 12-13 years old | 1980-1981 to 1990-1991 |
| Third Years | 13-14 years old | 1979-1980 to 1989-1990 |
| Fourth Years | 14-15 years old | 1978-1979 to 1988-1989 |
| Fifth Years | 15-16 years old | 1977-1978 to 1987-1988 |
| Sixth Years | 16-17 years old | 1976-1977 to 1986-1987 |
| Seventh Years | 17-18 years old | 1975-1976 to 1985-1986 |
As you can see, first year students span from 11-12 years old according to the canonical age range from the original book series timeline.
Customizable Age in Hogwarts Legacy
A welcome surprise for gamers with the release of Hogwarts Legacy is just how much flexibility and customization Portkey Games introduced around your student character‘s age!
During character creation in Legacy, players can customize their character‘s birth year and thus choose to start as age 11, 12, 13, 14 or even 15 in Year One:
In my opinion as an expert gamer, this option for player choice allows more roleplaying flexibility compared to the restricted lore of a standard 11 to 12 year old first year. You can now create a character that matches your own age for a more immersive gameplay experience.
Portkey Games also provided gamers insight into their design decision in interviews:
"We wanted players to feel like this character is representative of something they want to be, and not necessarily stick to canon and when people are invited to Hogwarts…" – Kelly Murphy, Lead Designer
As a fan myself of the Wizarding World IP, I love having options outside strict book canon to customize my personal Hogwarts journey. Kudos to Portkey for introducing more freedom here!
Start Your Magical Education at The Right Age
Whether you want to roleplay a traditional first year 11 year old student like Harry Potter himself, or customize a HogwartsLegacy character matching your own age, now you have more insights into the age ranges and criteria around starting at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!
Use this guide as reference when creating your personalized character for an ideal match to your own gaming preferences. And if you have any other questions around Hogwarts Legacy lore, feel free to ask – I‘m always happy to dig into a fellow gamer‘s magical RPG experience!
Let Year One begin…
