Harry Potter influences and analogues
Many critics have noted that Jill Murphy's "The Worst Witch" series (first published in 1974 by Allison & Busby), is set in a school for girls, "Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches", reminiscent of Hogwarts. The story concerns an awkward pupil at a boarding-school for witches, who faces a scheming rival student. Her professors include a kindly and elderly headmistress and a bullying, raven-haired potions teacher. Murphy has commented on her frustration at constant comparisons between her work and "Harry Potter": "It's irritating … everyone asks the same question and I even get children writing to ask me whether I mind about the Hogwarts school of witchcraft and pointing out similarities. Even worse are reviewers who come across my books, or see the TV series, and, without taking the trouble to find out that it's now over quarter of a century since I wrote my first book, make pointed remarks about 'clever timing' – or say things like 'the Worst Witch stories are not a million miles from J K Rowling's books'. The implications are really quite insulting!"
The Worst Witch
The school year is divided into two terms: the Winter term (September–January) and the Summer term (March–July), with a month's holiday between them. Students starts at Cackle's at the age of 12, and finish at the age of 17, for a total of five school years. The students arrive at the start of the term by flying broomsticks, except for the new first years, who walk through walker’s gate as they can’t fly yet. Halfway through the first term, the first years are each presented with a black kitten- Mildred receives a grey-and-black tabby cat as they apparently ran out of purely black cats- which they teach to ride the broomstick. The first book postulates that the cats weren't for any practical purpose except to keep tradition going, and in "Wishing Star", a group of elder witches note that there is no restriction on what animal a witch must have as her flight companion, with cats only being traditional as they are discreet and easy to care for, which leads to Mildred being permitted to fly with her dog, Star, after he shows greater broom aptitude than her cat Tabby. At the end of the first year, each pupil receives a copy of "The Popular Book of Spells", a three-inch thick volume bound in black leather. This was not really to be used, as they already had paperback editions for the classroom, but like the cats, it's another piece of tradition. At the end of the fifth and final year, students sit the exams for the W.H.C. (Witches' Higher Certificate), and most pupils were awarded with the certificate.