Sheffield Institute is founded about 100 years ago in a pumpkin patch and later, adopted the pumpkin and integrated it to the official seal of the school. The school is designed much like a castle. There are only 400 students at the school, spanning from the 7th to 12th grade. Therefore, there are small classes with only about 15 students per class and 80 students per grade. Though it has not been stated in the comics or the series, the books hint that it is a private school. As in the comics they teach Latin, a subject not common in most high schools, and due to the historic design of the school and the small classes, Sheffield Institute is likely to be a private school.