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Is there a such thing as an exchange program in Harry Potter?


In the Harry Potter universe, is there any mention of an exchange student at Hogwarts or one of the Hogwarts students going on exchange at another school?


This happens all the time in the "muggle" school systems I'm sure it would happen in the wizarding schools as well.



Answer



In a word, Yes. In Chapter 7 of Goblet of Fire (Bagman and Crouch) we learn that there are inter-school "exchange trips" in the wizarding world. Unfortunately the Weasley family, being as poor as mud, were unable to afford the expense:



‘Who d’you reckon they are?’ he said. ‘They don’t go to Hogwarts, do they?’ ‘’Spect they go to some foreign school,’ said Ron. ‘I know there are others, never met anyone who went to one though. Bill had a pen-friend at a school in Brazil … this was years and years ago … and he wanted to go on an exchange trip but Mum and Dad couldn’t afford it. His pen-friend got all offended when he said he wasn’t going and sent him a cursed hat. It made his ears shrivel up.’



Harry laughed, but didn’t voice the amazement he felt at hearing about other wizarding schools. He supposed, now he saw representatives of so many nationalities in the campsite, that he had been stupid never to realise that Hogwarts couldn’t be the only one. He glanced at Hermione, who looked utterly unsurprised by the information.



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