Uagadou

"*Although Africa has a number of smaller wizarding schools, there is only one that has stood the test of time (at least a thousand years) and achieved an enviable international reputation: Uagadou.*"
— Brief description of Uagadou[src]

**Uagadou** was the Ugandan wizarding school, located in the Mountains of the Moon in western Uganda. It was the largest of the eleven wizarding schools, accepting students from all over Africa.

## Contents

* 1Location
* 2History
* 3Reputation
* 4Recruitment
* 5Subjects
* 6Known students
* 7Etymology and pronunciation
* 8Behind the scenes
* 9Appearances
* 10Notes and references

## Location

*Main article: Uagadou edifice*
Visitors to the school spoke of a stunning edifice carved out of the mountainside and shrouded in mist, so that it sometimes appeared simply to float in mid-air.

## History

Uagadou was founded at least a thousand years before the lifetime of Harry Potter, making it roughly the same age as Hogwarts (perhaps even older). Although a number of smaller wizarding schools could be found throughout Africa, only Uagadou stood the test of time and achieved an enviable international reputation.

One notable graduate of Uagadou was Babajide Akingbade, who succeeded Albus Dumbledore as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. Another student from Uagadou also competed in the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship.

At an International Symposium of Animagi held in or around 2016, the Uagadou School Team attracted a lot of press when their display of synchronised transformations nearly caused a riot. Many older and more experienced witches and wizards felt threatened by teenagers who could transform at will into elephants and cheetahs, and Adrian Tutley (whose Animagus form was a gerbil) lodged a formal complaint with the International Confederation of Wizards.

## Reputation

Uagadou students were famously skilled in Astronomy, Alchemy, and Self-Transfiguration. Wands were primarily a European invention, and although African wizards did adopt them as useful tools, Uagadou students preferred to cast spells simply by pointing their fingers or through other types of hand gestures.

This technique gave them a sturdy line of defence when accused of breaking the International Statute of Secrecy (they could say they were simply making a random gesture and not intending to do magic).

## Recruitment

*Main article: Dream Messenger*
Students received notice of their acceptance to Uagadou through Dream Messengers, sent by the headmaster or headmistress of the day. The Dream Messenger appeared to the child as they slept and would leave a token, usually an inscribed stone, to be found in the child's hand upon waking. Uagadou was the only school that employed this method of student notification.

## Subjects

Astronomy was one of the subjects presumably taught at Uagadou, as Uagadou students had a reputation for being skilled in Astronomy. Alchemy was presumably another subject taught at Uagadou, as Uagadou students had a reputation for being skilled in Alchemy as well. Transfiguration was also presumably taught at Uagadou, as Uagadou students had a reputation for being skilled in Self-Transfiguration.

## Known students

Natsai Onai (formerly; transferred to Hogwarts)

Potions champion (possibly graduated)

* Babajide Akingbade (graduated)
* Uagadou School Team

## Etymology and pronunciation

* The pronunciation of Uagadou is /ˌwɑːɡəˈduː/ or, as rendered on *Pottermore*, "*Wag - a - doo*".
* Uagadou may be a variant spelling of Ouagadou, a commune in southwestern Mali, or Wagadu, a name for the Ghana Empire, which was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania and western Mali. It is also possible that it is derived from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

## Behind the scenes

* The school was referred to as Uagadou school of magic in *Wonderbook: Book of Potions*; though it is unclear if this is the school's full name. *Pottermore* referred to it simply as Uagadou in the title of a piece of information written by J. K. Rowling, but at the same time referred to Ilvermorny as Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.