Hmm, I may be showing my bias here, but I think what is needed most in a magical school setting is an underlying weirdness factor juxtaposing the mundane aspects of traditional schooling. Enough to show that there's some real magic in between the boring day to day of casually defying natural law.

Plus it allows you to explain interesting nuts and bolts magic while keeping the mystery alive. You get to be Sanderson and Guy Gavriel Kay at the same time. You know, minus the accolades and success.

The Name of the Wind did this quite well. Your own fic An Unfound Door also comes to mind.


From a marketability perspective, I'd be willing to bet the outsider looking underneath the underneath and seeing the world for how it really really is appeals to the special snowflake in all of us. Gotta trick those damn kids into reading somehow.