Was Hogwarts a castle before a school?

Well, Scots of the Iron Age built great stone towers called brochs, and the Romans (who never got very far into Scotland) built towns some of which were surrounded by curtain walls resembling those we associate with castle. But after that, British castles weren't built f stone again until the late 11th C. read more

Hogwarts is a castle, but wasn’t anything else other than a school. It wasn’t a castle that was to be discovered to later be used as a magical school for wizards and witches. It was built by the four founders (Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin) for the soul purpose in educating magic to students. read more

But, for the first two Potter films, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, — before it became a film phenomenon equal to its literary success — a real life castle stood in for your dream school. read more

A first year is a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who is new to Hogwarts and in their first year of magical education. First years are typically eleven to twelve years of age. First years arrive at the castle by crossing the lake with the Keeper of the Keys in boats separate from the older students. read more