Ages of Pevensie children?

Well, they go the same school, right? So Peter was probably old enough to go on to a secondary school by the end of Prince Caspian
 
I'm pretty sure that the school they are attending in Prince Caspian is a secondary school, which in the UK today means age 11+, though it was not necessarily the same in the 1940s. It could perhaps be an upper school (age 13+) or possibly a middle school (age 9+). However, I think it was not a primary school, since it says that Lucy was going to boarding school for the first time, implying that previously she had been at some other kind of school (ie. primary school). Note also that all the Pevensies had left school by the time of TLB (which suggests Lucy was 15 or 16 by that time), and TLB takes place around 4 years after LWW (LWW -> PC = 1 year, PC -> VDT = 1 year, VDT -> TSC = a few weeks, TSC -> TLB = "more than a year").

I argued in this thread for a somewhat older age for the children - with Lucy as 12 and Peter as 16 in LWW.

Peeps

[Edit: I just looked over the previous page of this thread. I don't think I'd ever seen it before (the last post was before I joined the forum), but various people seemed to be working on similar ages to my theory, and for the same reasons. Nice to know I'm not alone :) ]
 
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Something not mentioned about the girl's schooling is that Finishing Schools were still around and popular in those days. Young ladies often left normal schools at 15 and entered Finishing School for a year. If you read the books by Kate Douglas Wiggin after Finishing School young ladies would be given a chance to travel for a year and then would be married at 17-18. This seems to be the path that Susan would have been following before the LB.
Schools in Europe were divided as follows:

Kindergarten 4–6 years old
Primary School 6–12 years old
Lower Secondary 12–15 years old
Upper Secondary 15–18 years old

Upper secondary was often trade school, military School, or College prepatory for boys and Finishing school for girls.
 
TimmyofOz said:
Schools in Europe were divided as follows:
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Europe is (and was then) a very diverse place. I don't think the schema you used represents the English school system in the 1940s (or any other decade, for that matter). The primary/secondary school division has always (I think) been at age 11, although some regions have a primary, middle, upper school model, with divisions at age 9 and 13.

From Wikipedia, it seems that the education system in force in the early 1940s (until 1944 when there were major reforms) was the Education Act of 1918.
Wikipedia (History of education in England) said:
The Fisher Education Act 1918 made secondary education compulsory up to age 14 and gave responsibility for secondary schools to the state. Under the Act, many higher elementary schools and endowed grammar schools sought to become state funded central schools or secondary schools. However, most children attended elementary (primary, in modern parlance) school until age 14, rather than going to a separate school for secondary education. The act was also known as the "Fisher Act" as it was devised by H. A. L. Fisher. The act enforced compulsory education from 5–14 years, but also included provision for compulsory part-time education for all 14- to 18-year-olds.
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Since compulsory education was introduced in the late 19th century, the school-start age has always been 5 (usually the child begins school at age 4, in the term that they will turn 5, though these days I think it is common for all children to start in the September before they turn 5.

Peeps
 
Peepiceek said:
Since compulsory education was introduced in the late 19th century, the school-start age has always been 5 (usually the child begins school at age 4, in the term that they will turn 5, though these days I think it is common for all children to start in the September before they turn 5.

Peeps
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I never liked the idea of children starting 1st grade (in America) before 6½. If that means than they are almost 7½ before starting 1st grade then fine.
 
I have always thought of Lucy as 10 in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Edmund as 12, Susan maybe 13 or 14, and Peter as maybe 15 or 16.
 
LadyAnneH said:
I understand what you mean. I think as a kid I always saw the Pevensies as younger, but I think now that I am older I cannot see them as little kids and being able to do what they did. Perhaps it is because I studied enough history in college to see it as unlikely for a child of even 15 or 16 to lead an army and live through a war like that. Even my favorite, Henry V was in his late 20s (and had years of training and an expert army with him) when he defeated the French at Agincourt. Lewis was a Medievalist, I'm certain he knew what was involved so I seems illogical that he would write the role of High King and general of the Narnian army for a youth of only 13?
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The only thing is they age quickly within the time that they are in Narnia so he could have been old than 15 or whatever when he lead the army because time is quite random in Narnia
 
Narnialover, time flows at a normal rate in Narnia. The randomness on their part when the Pevensies (and later Edmund and Jill) arrive in Narnia. I still see Peter at about 15 when he arrived in Narnia (although nothing is ever said of when his birthday was so he easily could have turned 16 before the battle took place). But they were not just fighting on their own, they had Aslan who could easily could have blessed them as soon as they arrived in Narnia so they could sit on the four thrones.
 
We know that in Prince Caspian, Peter was young enough that Trumpkin referred to him as a child or boy. We also know that both boys, after Aslan breathed on them, were mistaken by the Telmarines as young adults. Edmund is considered a fell warrior and a Kinglier man than Miraz. We would also have to assume that he was older than 11 in LWW because he had been long enough in a boarding school for it to have affected him. I still think Lucy was 10 in LWW, Edmund 12, Susan at least 13, and Peter at least 14.
 
The age of the Pevensies is probably the biggest mystery in the series though for me, and i read the books thinking they are that age; in LWW Lucy was between 10 and 11, Edmund between 12 and 13, Susan 14 and Peter 15.
Now that i'm rereading the books, i'll pay more attention to the details although i feel like Lewis wasn't thinking about their ages while writing.
 
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