Gokstad Academy
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| Gokstad Academy | ||
| Located | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Serves | Scandinavia | |
| Founded | 1730 | |
| Headmaster | Petter Ãrjan Ingersson | |
| Capacity | >700 | |
Contents
History
Originally belonging to an illustrious pureblood family, the castle dates back to the early 1400s, where it was the seat of the Ãstergaard family, until the family's ruin in the early 1700s. The last remaining member of the family was a studious and charitable man named Kaspar Ãstergaard, and he saw fit to turn the castle into something useful instead of selling it or letting it rot abandoned. He had heard of the success of the magical school in Britain, Hogwarts, and decided to create a school of his old castle for the magical children of Norway and the rest of Scandinavia who otherwise would not have formal education.
It took him half a decade to create classrooms and dormitories out of the old place, as well as finding a suitable staff for his school, but finally it all came together. News of the new school traveled mostly by word of mouth, and though the first group of students to come through the Academy was admittedly small, they came out with good things to say; and so the school's population grew more and more each year, with students pouring in from the further reaches of Scandinavia.
Exceptionally pleased with his school's development, Kaspar governed the student body as a beloved headmaster, and remained as such until his death in 1783.
In modern days, the school continues to be the premiere school for the magical children of Scandinavia, and even special transfers from elsewhere. The school has also developed an astonishing specialty in medicinal magic, as well as top herbological studies.
Despite high marks nearly school-wide in these and most other subjects, many of the more hardnosed parents of the magical world have criticised Gokstad as "less disciplined" than other schools, though that opinion has changed somewhat in recent years.
Grounds
The Main Castle
The gargantuan carved wooden doors open onto the Entrance Hall at Gokstad. Drafty and large, the floors are stone and the ceiling is very tall. Walking in you are met with staircases on each side of the room, including one large, grand staircase straight ahead. Torches line the hall but above, toward the ceiling, are fuzzy floating lights which give the hall a soft glow. Are they fairies? No one knows.
To the right of the Grand Staircase is a passageway which leads to the Feasting Hall, where all students and staff take their meals.
Both libraries are located in the Main Castle, on the second and fifth floors, and are rumoured to be connected by a passageway behind mutual sections on fortunetelling, but these rumours are at this time unfounded. Most of the core classrooms are located in the Main Castle as well, along with some specialised classes and the Hospital Parlour. The Duelling Hall takes up a good deal of the sixth floor, and is used by the Duelling club and advanced Charms classes.
In all, there are seven floors at Gokstad Academy (not counting the extra floors in the towers), and usually all of them are in some use or another.
The Towers
There are four towers in all at Gokstad, and all of them are used as dormitories and common areas for the sections and teachers. The East Tower houses Njord and Frejya students; The West Tower houses Thor and Sif students; and the Northwest Tower houses those staffmembers who do not govern a section. The Northwest tower has various uses, the foremost of which is Astronomy. Though not attached to the Main Castle like the East and West towers, both the Northeast and Northwest towers are attached to the Adjoint Castle areas, accessible by badly insulated passageways from the Main Castle.
Adjoint Castles
In all, there are two buildings adjointly connected to the Main Castle which are not drab enough to simply be called "buildings"; however, they are not quite as grand as the Main Castle. Still, the general populace of the school has taken to affectionately calling them the "Adjoint Castles," or simply the "Connectors," distinguished from each other as Northeast and Northwest. They are attached to the Main Castle by extremely drafty passageways, so the students and staff don't have to trek out into the snow, and the connecting passage the the Northeast Castle is, in fact, a skybridge. The state-of-the-art indoor greenhouses, installed in 1918 to better Herbology studies as the northern climate had otherwise impeded, are located in the Northwest Castle, on the first floor. The school's kitchens are located in the Northwest Castle, from which the food is magically transported into the Feasting Hall.
Outdoors
Despite being located on extensive grounds, Gokstad's location is mountainous, and the snowfall is often so heavy during the winter that it makes outdoor activity nearly impossible. However, during the autumn and spring months, right before and after the snowfall, there is some opportunity for outdoor fun. Students are permitted to fly on brooms in the courtyard outside of the main hall, or take a walk on the nature path through the forest on the skirt of the school, or simply bask in what little sun is out while in the courtyard.
During light winter months, snowshoeing is a popular activity. In the past, students have also formed teams according to section to play Isenpinn (which is a magically adapted form of Quodpot, polo, and ice hockey) downhill of the school on the frozen lake. Due to short daylight hours, these games must be played during the day to allow for safest conditions, which usually results in a day without daylight hours classes.
Student Politics and Curriculum
Sections
To keep the student body well-organised and looked after, each student is placed into one of four sections, two for males and tewo for females, according to randomised placement techniques. Each section is named after one of the Norse gods, and has a corresponding teacher and one or two student leaders, usually older students who have exhibited exemplary conduct. The students stay in these sections through the duration of their attendance at Gokstad, but unlike most of their companion schools around the world, the sections do not compete as such.
The sections are as follows, the first two being male sections and second two being female sections: Thor, Njord, Freyja, and Sif. The students are identified as members of their sections by the colours of their ties and berets, which are Gold, Navy, Forest Green, and Maroon, respectively.
Curriculum
The school's curriculum is not unlike those of other magical schools: students gain knowledge in areas of core magic in Charms, Conjuring/Summoning, Divination, and Transfiguration. However, there are extensive programmes in other subjects such as Astronomy, Medicinal Magic, and Herbology, along with various others. The medicinal magic programme is considered one of the best in the magical world, and many graduates go on to become Healers.
Because of state-of-the-art indoor Herbology classrooms, herbological studies at Gokstad are also renowned.
Students are required to take classes in the core subjects, but are free to choose what other subjects they wish to pursue, such as astronomy, et. al.
Headmasters
Headmaster: Petter Ãrjan Ingersson
Past Headmasters
- Kaspar Ãstergaard (1730-1782)
- Algot Simonsson (1782-1830)
- Niclaes Friedricksson (1830-1841)
- Gottfried Eld (1841-1878)
- Henrik Holmström (1878-1904)
- Oskar Bergmann (1904-1916)
- Olaf Ludvigsen (1916-1925)
- Petter Ãrjan Ingersson (1925- )
