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Academic Year - Version 10 vs Version 11
Jun 26, 2026, 11:05 AM
Removed duplicate in-body wikilinks
Jul 4, 2026, 04:37 PM
Corrected the number of magical disciplines from four to three (Alchemy, Divination, Arcane Arts)
11The academic year is the calendar spine of Witchbrook. Everything a player does at Witchbrook College and across the surrounding town of Mossport runs against a single shared year clock: classes, exams, seasonal events, the passage of the weather, and the daily routines of every resident and tourist. Chucklefish has described the game as a grounded, practical school life simulation, and the academic year is the frame that holds that simulation together. A student can expect to move through structured semesters of coursework, optional summer study, and a town-wide calendar of festivals that cause Mossport itself to look and behave differently from one week to the next.22Overview44Witchbrook is built around the rhythm of going back to school. A witch-in-training enrols at the College, works through a curriculum that spans four core schools of magic, and over the course of the year develops both academic standing and a social life in town. Progression is not abstract experience points: it is classes attended, assignments handed in, exams passed, and school badges earned. The ultimate academic goal is to graduate at the top of the class, with a visible record of the disciplines a student has mastered.5+Witchbrook is built around the rhythm of going back to school. A witch-in-training enrols at the College, works through a curriculum that spans three core schools of magic, and over the course of the year develops both academic standing and a social life in town. Progression is not abstract experience points: it is classes attended, assignments handed in, exams passed, and school badges earned. The ultimate academic goal is to graduate at the top of the class, with a visible record of the disciplines a student has mastered.66At the same time, the year is not just a school schedule. Mossport has its own seasonal life that runs in parallel to the College curriculum. Residents change their clothes with the weather, shop windows redecorate with the holidays, and community festivals fill the streets on specific dates. See Overview for a broader summary of how these threads fit together; this article focuses specifically on the shape of the year itself.1010Term Structure1212The school year is divided into semesters, each bookended by an exam. Chucklefish has confirmed that a student must pass the semester 1 and semester 2 exams before the College will open up the advanced Arcane Arts curriculum with its rituals and demons. In practical terms, this means the first half of the year is about building a solid foundation across the introductory schools, and the second half is about specialising and taking on more dangerous material once the exams have been cleared.1414Term ElementRole in the YearSemester 1Opening run of the year, introductory coursework across the core schoolsSemester 1 examFirst formal assessment, required to progress to advanced disciplinesSemester 2Continuation of coursework, deeper study in the student's chosen focus areasSemester 2 examSecond formal assessment, unlocks Arcane Arts for students who passOptional summer classesAdditional study outside the main semester structure for students who want it1616Because the exams gate access to later content, the academic year naturally encourages a player to keep up with daily classes rather than skip them. Cutting class once or twice is survivable; skipping long stretches leaves a student unprepared when assessment week arrives and can push advanced disciplines further down the calendar.1717Daily Class Schedule1919Classes at Witchbrook College are scheduled across the day and the night, which lets the curriculum cover both the practical and the cosmological sides of magic. Daytime classes deal with material that benefits from sunlight and an alert, busy school campus; nighttime classes lean into celestial work that only really makes sense when the stars are out.2121Time of DayExample SubjectWhat Students LearnDaytimeAlchemyWorking with local flora and fauna to craft herbal teas, topical salves, and eventually more complex potions and curesDaytimeDivinationTarot card reading at the College Observatory, including card meanings and common spreadsNighttimeDivinationAdvanced celestial study, learning to communicate with the constellations of the cosmosPost-examArcane ArtsRitual magic and work with demons, unlocked only after passing both semester exams2525This split also feeds directly into civic life. A witch who spends the day on tarot and the night on constellation study is exactly the profile a town resident wants for a home consultation, which is a paid private reading that turns coursework into community service. In the same way, alchemy students can source ingredients during the day, brew in the afternoon, and hand-deliver finished remedies in time for evening conversations in town.2626Seasons and Weather2828Mossport is a town that visibly changes with the seasons. The developers have described the shift as gradual rather than instantaneous: spring fills the town with flowers bit by bit as the weeks pass, and winter arrives with darker mornings, shorter days, and a first dusting of snow rather than a sudden switch. The length of the day itself is tied to the season, so summer offers long bright afternoons and winter concentrates activity into a shorter daylight window.3030SeasonWhat Changes in MossportSpringFlowers gradually fill the streets, residents shed heavy layers, and the Tulip Festival builds toward full bloomSummerLong, bright days, sun hats and summer attire, optional summer classes at the College for students who want themAutumnCooler air, shifting resident routines, and community events tied to the harvestWinterShorter days, first snowfall, fairy lights on porches, and winter garlands and bows across shops and street lamps3232Weather is not cosmetic. Different resources and jobs are available at different times of year, NPC schedules shift to match the season, and attire changes for residents, students, and tourists alike. A student who wants to make the most of the year plans around these shifts: some alchemy ingredients appear only in certain seasons, and some town jobs only open up when the weather is right.3333Notable Events and Festivals3535Each season brings its own public events that NPCs attend as part of their routines. The developers have confirmed a handful of named occasions, and the Oracle newsletter inside the game is dated to specific in-world days, which gives a useful sense of how the calendar is laid out across the four seasons.3737EventSeason and DateDescriptionTulip FestivalSpring, 20th of Spring at Meadowlark FarmAnnual community festival timed to the day the tulip fields reach full bloom; the town gradually fills with flowers as the date approachesOracle issue 3 releaseSpring, 21st of SpringWitchbrook Oracle newsletter lands in town the day after the Tulip FestivalOracle issue 4 releaseSummer, 1st of SummerStart-of-summer edition of the newsletterOracle issue 5 releaseSummer, 20th of SummerLate-summer edition of the newsletterAnnual Pumpkin Growing CompetitionAutumnCommunity competition for the heaviest, biggest pumpkin, part of Mossport's autumn calendarOracle issue 1 releaseAutumn, 28th of AutumnFirst issue of the Oracle for the year, right before the shift into winterWinter festivitiesWinterFairy lights on porches, candy canes and baubles in shop windows at Calico, Olive's, Caffeina, and Harbour Homes, bus stops draped in red bows, and winter garlands on street lamps3939Because residents attend events as part of their scheduled routines, the academic year is also a social calendar. Showing up to a festival is not just a cosmetic activity: it is an opportunity to catch townsfolk who might otherwise be hard to find, introduce the witch to potential friends and clients, and build up the reputation needed for deeper civic witchcraft and romance storylines.4040Progression and Badges4242Academic progress in Witchbrook is tracked publicly. Attending classes, completing assignments, and practising magic around Mossport earns school badges, and the College keeps a record of which students are at the top of which class. Chucklefish has framed this as the explicit goal of the game: to graduate at the top of the class in as many schools of magic as the player can manage over the course of the year.4444Classes. Daily attendance in the day and night curriculum, with subject matter that escalates from basic remedies and tarot fundamentals to complex potions, celestial communication, and ritual magic.Assignments. Practical tasks tied to a discipline, such as brewing a specific remedy or interpreting a particular spread, that consolidate what was covered in class.Exams. Semester 1 and semester 2 assessments, which gate access to Arcane Arts and mark the main turning points in the year.School badges. Awarded for practising magic consistently across the year; they function as the visible record of the witch's growing expertise in each school.Top of class. A ranking that recognises students whose coursework and practical work has been strongest in a given discipline.4646Because the year is long and the curriculum is wide, no single student is expected to master every school in a single run. A player can choose to focus tightly on one or two disciplines and try to graduate at the top of those classes, or spread their attention more evenly and build a more general profile. Both paths are supported by the same underlying calendar of classes and exams.4848Optional Summer Classes5050Alongside the mandatory semester structure, the College offers optional summer classes. These exist outside the main exam pipeline and give students who want more study time a way to get it without waiting for the next school year to start. They suit players who enjoy maximising their academic output and want to go deeper on a particular school over the warmer months, as well as anyone who fell behind during the winter term and wants a second run at the same material.5252Summer also has its own civic rhythm, with the long daylight hours and warmer weather opening up resource-gathering windows that are not available in other seasons. Combining summer coursework with summer alchemy work or consultation practice is a natural way to build both the academic and the practical sides of the witch in parallel.5454Coursework, Assignments, and Merits5656Classes are only the start. Throughout the week the College posts assignments that put a witch's lessons to work. Many assignments send the student into Mossport to consult a resident, diagnose a fix using materials in the school library, and then carry that fix out. Completing an assignment earns college merits. Merits can be spent in the college shop, and more importantly they are the ticket that lets a student sit the College's exams. Residents the witch helps will often send thank-you gifts of their own.5858Separate from merits, the game also awards credits for exemplifying what it means to be a witch: helping out around town, finishing side quests, or unlocking new knowledge. Where merits gate exam access, credits track the broader sense of a witch growing into the role.6060The Knowledge Collection6262As a witch lives and studies in Mossport she builds up a knowledge collection, a personal record of everything she has learned. The collection tracks subjects across the curriculum and holds the requirements for memorising new information. Finding a herb in the forest for the first time, for example, unlocks that herb in the collection along with its description, but the herb's growth time only fills in once the witch has grown it several times.6464Early on a student leans on books found and borrowed from the school library to look this information up, and overdue books are meant to be returned on time. As the collection fills out, the witch relies more on her own accumulated knowledge and less on the library. Exam marks are tied directly to the collection: the grade a witch earns depends on how much knowledge she has banked in the sections that the exam tests. A magical-medicine exam, for instance, draws on herbal tea, salve, and Herbology knowledge.6666A witch unsure of her readiness can attend a coven study group, where covenmates run mock exams to test her knowledge before the real assessment.6868Exams, Grades, and Graduation7070Exams are the spine of academic progress. A witch must earn passing marks in every one of a grade's exams to advance to the next grade, which opens new classes, spells, activities, and access to certain dangerous areas of Mossport that are closed off earlier in the year. Each completed exam also entitles the witch to learn a new spell from her coven head, Professor Carlyle, who gives one-on-one spellcasting tuition to her coven.7272Completing exams advances the year, and finishing the full run leads toward graduation. Many witches choose to stay on as postgrads rather than leave, using the extra time to complete the knowledge collection, improve grades on earlier exams, and grow their witch business to new heights. A single full in-game year is substantial on its own: playing through just the first year can take roughly 40 to 50 hours depending on playstyle.7474Wellbeing7676Running parallel to the academic schedule is a wellbeing system that rewards a witch for looking after herself between her studies. Small everyday acts raise wellbeing: petting a dog, taking a walk in nature, or having a good conversation with a friend. Staying up far too late or upsetting a friend pushes it back down. At the end of each day the day's events are tallied and the current wellbeing level is adjusted.7878A healthy wellbeing level pays off in concrete ways, from increased income and better deals to extra gifts, relationship benefits, and stronger exam performance. The system frames rest and balance as part of doing well at college rather than a distraction from it.8080Connection to Civic Life8282The academic year is inseparable from life in Mossport. Chucklefish has emphasised that magic in Witchbrook is a grounded, practical discipline, and the coursework is designed to feed directly into town activities. Students who learn alchemy during the day turn around and sell remedies in town in the evening. Divination students take their tarot training into private home consultations for paying clients. Arcane Arts work, once unlocked, opens up more serious community rituals later in the year.8484The reverse is also true: the town's calendar shapes the school year. A festival in full swing draws even studious witches out of the dorms; a seasonal shift in weather changes which ingredients the alchemy class can actually use; a busy market week alters who is available for a consultation on any given evening. The academic year is best understood not as a school schedule running in isolation but as one strand of a larger, shared calendar that the whole town lives by together.8686Autumn Calendar in Detail8888Autumn's anchor event is the Annual Pumpkin Growing Competition, hosted by Wild Flower, the town's flower and gardening supply shop. The contest weighs entries by the heaviest pumpkin pre-carve, and past honourees include student gardener Fenkel Blomgren, whose entry, raised across the season, came in at twenty stone before any carving touched it. The competition pulls the whole town through one storefront on competition day and gives the season a clear public anchor outside the academic timetable.9090The autumn calendar also includes a community trick-or-treat walk that leaves from the Mossport promenade at four-thirty in the afternoon and wraps by seven in the evening. The walk follows a defined route through the town's named residents, who answer their doors in costume and hand out seasonal sweets to anyone who knocks. For a first-year witch, it is one of the most reliable ways to meet neighbours they would otherwise only see in passing on their walk to class, and a useful introduction to the town's wider social calendar before the second-semester curriculum tightens up.9292Both events sit inside the same simulated town that drives the rest of Mossport, so participation is treated as ordinary day-by-day play rather than as a separate scripted minigame. A student who plans their semester around showing up at competition day or walking the promenade with the trick-or-treat group earns the same kind of social capital they would by attending a class or running a home consultation.9494Side Hobbies Through the Year9696Outside the formal class schedule, the academic year also has space for the side hobbies that the town offers. Photography runs all year, with Snippy Snaps vending machines around Mossport supplying the camera film a witch needs to actually take pictures. Foraging windows, fishing spots along the winding river, and the seasonal stock at Wild Flower all rotate with the calendar, so a student who wants to braid these hobbies into their year tends to plan around the seasons in the same way they plan around their semester exams. Catching a particular flower in spring, a particular fish in summer, or a particular pumpkin in autumn each requires being in the right place during the right week of the in-game year.
