[Tax-chick]

Harry Potter is essentially the British public school story with a little magical window-dressing.

That was my take, too. Behind the "magic," it's a totally secular worldview. Police procedurals have more spiritual content!

I like the "school" stuff, and I guess my kids do, too, because we don't have to experience it!

[AnAmericanMother]

The British school story IS a formula story, exactly like the police procedural.

If you haven't read Kipling's Stalky & Co., give it a look. It's based on his own experiences at the United Service Colleges in Devon.