I think JKR is really crappy with maths at the best of times, and I don't think much of her post-book tinkering with the universe, as you probably know.
So having said this, and freely admitting I haven't been following this, is it possible that these are well-known schools simply because they're among the oldest and/or started by a prominent person in magical history? (Obviously if any of these eleven are new schools, this theory can be dismissed). In other words, they aren't necessarily unusually good schools, they've just got a bit of nostalgic cred about them that's led them to be seen as prestigious.
Another possibility is that they are prestigious in the sense that they are considered to be the source of up-and-coming great wizards and witches, but it doesn't automatically mean that all witches and wizards there are great. So they aren't particularly selective in terms of admission, but they will identify and nurture talented ones and give them the best start. So a modern analogy might be a good school with a well-regarded gifted and talented program, but that doesn't mean only gifted kids can go there.
I'm just spitballing ideas here, I have no stake in this. For my own sanity, I basically think of Pottermore as JKR's after-canon fanfic, and only deutero-canonical at best.
So having said this, and freely admitting I haven't been following this, is it possible that these are well-known schools simply because they're among the oldest and/or started by a prominent person in magical history? (Obviously if any of these eleven are new schools, this theory can be dismissed). In other words, they aren't necessarily unusually good schools, they've just got a bit of nostalgic cred about them that's led them to be seen as prestigious.
Another possibility is that they are prestigious in the sense that they are considered to be the source of up-and-coming great wizards and witches, but it doesn't automatically mean that all witches and wizards there are great. So they aren't particularly selective in terms of admission, but they will identify and nurture talented ones and give them the best start. So a modern analogy might be a good school with a well-regarded gifted and talented program, but that doesn't mean only gifted kids can go there.
I'm just spitballing ideas here, I have no stake in this. For my own sanity, I basically think of Pottermore as JKR's after-canon fanfic, and only deutero-canonical at best.
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