Thank's for the recommendation! I've read and enjoyed other books by Novik, I'll seek out that one!
I'll have to quibble with part of the premise of this thread, though
The Magic (High) School genre is much, much older than Hogwarts. Le Guin's Wizard of Earthsea (published in 1968) springs to mind, where a poor boy (I think an orphan?) is admitted to a prestigious magic school, has problems fitting in because he has a much more humble background than the other students, and turns out to have some extraordinary talents. Looking in my bookshelf, I also find A College of Magics by Stevermeer, published 1994 (also recommended!). I'm sure there are many others.
Rowling's books gave the genre a boost, but that doesn't mean she invented it.