Marlborough is a happy, flourishing, vibrant community where friendships for life are made.
We are delighted that you are interested in Marlborough College. Choosing a senior school is one of the most important decisions that you make for your child and our Admissions Team are here to help guide you through your journey to Marlborough College.
Here you will find a short video that outlines our admissions process, helpful information on our selection aims, a step-by-step guide to the process and key dates for your diary.
We understand that the admissions process can seem complicated so we hope that the following step-by-step guide will help you understand where you are in the process and what your most appropriate next step will be, whether you are considering entry for your child at 13+ or 16+.
Contact Us
For further information or questions about our admissions procedures, please contact the Admissions Department by email at admissions@marlboroughcollege.org or telephone on +44 (0)1672 892300. We would be delighted to help you.
Pupils wishing to join Marlborough in Year 9 (13+) will first need to establish a confirmed list place offer at the College. Subsequently, boarding house preference requests and allocation will be arranged. A majority of pupils will be assessed in Year 6 for a College place. A smaller intake to the College will be considered in Year 7 and, space permitting, selected late places may be available for assessment in Year 8.
We understand that the admissions process can seem complicated so we hope that the following step-by-step guide for 13+ Entry will help you understand where you are in the process and what your most appropriate next step will be.
Step 1: Initial Enquiry
An enquiry record and a prospectus request can be made at any time up to the closing date relevant to a child’s year of entry.
Step 2: Visit the College
Open Day – These take place in the Summer Term of Year 4 and Year 5. There is an opportunity to have a pupil-led tour of the College, visit a Boarding House and meet with the Master, the Director of Admissions, Heads of Departments, Housemasters and Housemistresses.
Individual Visit – An individual visit can be arranged for families living abroad, or those who are unable to attend our other visit events. An individual visit will include an informal meeting with the Director of Admissions and an adult-led tour of the College campus. These visits can be arranged on a weekday during the school term. Please contact the Admissions Team directly to arrange a visit.
House Visit Afternoon – For those with children currently in Year 5, families are welcome to attend a House Visit Afternoon during the Michaelmas Term or Summer Term of Year 5. This event offers a pupil-led tour of a Boarding House with an opportunity to meet with a Housemaster or Housemistress and House team, with some campus highlights. These events take place on weekdays during the school term.
Step 3: Registration
Registrations can be accepted at any point up until the deadline date for entry (9th October of Year 6 or Year 7) and require completion and return of a registration form along with a registration fee of £300. For more information, please contact the Admissions Department at admissions@marlboroughcollege.org.
Step 4: Year 6 Open Day
Families who have made an enquiry or registered with us will receive an invitation to the Year 6 Open Day, which takes place in the Michaelmas Term in Year 6. This event is the final opportunity to visit the College before the Enrolment deadline (9th October of Year 6). The Year 6 Open Day includes an opportunity to have a pupil-led tour of the College, visit a Boarding House and meet with the Master, the Director of Admissions, Heads of Departments, Housemasters and Housemistresses.
Step 5: Closing Dates
The closing date for applications relating to bursarial support for those being assessed in Year 6 is 1st July at the end of Summer term of Year 5. Bursary allocation will be made primarily for those who are assessed and interviewed in Year 6. For those being assessed in Year 7, applications are still welcome but should be made at the earliest possible opportunity.
Step 6: Entry Assessment and Offers
Entry assessment: Enrolled applicants will be invited to an assessment day which takes place during the Lent Term of Year 6 (or the Lent Term of Year 7 or Year 8 for later applications). The College aims to make the entry assessment day as pressure-free as possible. On the day there are two short writing tasks (no preparation is required), an interview with a Housemaster or Housemistress, an interview with a boarding house tutor and some informal group activities.
College place offers: As a result of the current Head’s reference, the ISEB Pre-Tests and the assessment day and interviews, confirmed list and waiting list College place offers are made towards the end of the Lent Term of Year 6 (or end of Lent Term of Year 7 or Year 8 for later applications).
House place offers: Families whose child has a confirmed list College place will be invited to a final House Visit Day which will take place in the Summer Term of Year 6. The focus of this event is for families to tour boarding houses and meet with Housemasters and Housemistresses in order to request their final preferred boarding house choices for their child. After the event and before the end of the Summer Term in Year 6, parents will be asked to submit their preferred first, second and third choice of boarding houses. House place offers will then be made early in the Michaelmas Term of Year 7.
For those assessed in Year 7 or Year 8, boarding house preferences will be taken into account during allocation, although availability will vary year on year.
Step 7: Y7 and Y8 Experience Days
Pupils will confirmed places at the College will be invited to attend several Experience Days throughout Year 7 and Year 8. These optional Experience Days will cover a range of activities including Academic, Art, DT, Drama, Music, Outdoor Activities and Sport. The visits will give our incoming pupils the opportunity to try new things, get to know the College a little better, and spend time with their future peers, current pupils and teachers prior to joining us.
Step 8: Scholarships and Awards
Scholarships applications are invited for in the following subjects: Academic, Art, Design Technology, Drama and Music. Awards in Sport can also be applied for. Those who hold a Sports Award during Year 9 at the College, will be assessed for a Sports scholarship starting Year 10.
Only children holding an A list place can apply. Scholarships at Marlborough are not related to bursarial support. Children who are successful in gaining a scholarship will be offered an enhanced programme of mentoring and enrichment once they join the College. Scholarship examinations and assessments take place at Marlborough College during the Michaelmas and Lent Terms of Year 8.
Step 9: Common Entrance
Children with a confirmed list place will sit Common Entrance Examinations in the Summer Term of Year 8. We are fully aware that a number of our feeder schools do not prepare their pupils for these exams and these children will be asked to sit a minimum number of papers. The results will be used to determine the children’s sets on arrival at the College but careful note will be taken of those children who have not been prepared for the exams. Those who have succeeded in being awarded an academic scholarship will not be required to sit the Common Entrance Examinations.
Step 10: Visit Day and Arrival
Children with a confirmed list place and their families are invited by their future Housemaster or Housemistress to a summer social event in Year 8. This is a chance for incoming pupils to meet with their fellow housemates and families.
New pupils to Marlborough College are welcomed in the Michaelmas Term of Year 9.
Welcome to Sixth Form life, a time when you have the freedom to construct for yourself a stimulating and tailored curriculum which will help you to make key transitional steps towards life beyond school. Every pupil at Marlborough College has the opportunity to explore their interests and develop their talents in a wide range of areas.
The Lower Sixth entry assessment process is deliberately rigorous and aims to allow pupils to demonstrate exactly how they will thrive at the College.
We understand that the admissions process can seem complicated so we hope that the following step-by-step guide for 16+ Entry will help you understand where you are in the process and what your most appropriate next step will be.
Step 1: Initial Enquiry
An enquiry record and a prospectus request can be made at any time up to the closing date relevant to a child’s year of entry.
Step 2: Visit the College
Year 10, Summer Term – An invitation to a Lower Sixth Afternoon Visit will be sent to families who have made an initial enquiry or have registered their child. Alternatively, arrangements for an individual visit to view the College are welcome.
Step 3: Registration
Registrations can be accepted at any point up until the deadline date for entry (1st October, Year 11) and require completion and return of a registration form along with a registration fee of £300.
Step 4: Closing Dates, Assessment and Scholarships
Bursarial support application closing date – 1st July, Year 10.
Registration, enrolment for entry assessment and scholarship application closing date – 1st October, Year 11.
Entry Assessment examinations and interview – November, Year 11. Any pupil applying for a scholarship will have an additional interview on the assessment day.
Further details about scholarships, eligibility and requirements can be found in the Scholarship Prospectus.
Step 5: Offers
As a result of the assessment, offers will be made in early December of Year 11, when an acceptance of a place is confirmed on receipt of a fee deposit.
Step 6: Joining the College
Successful pupils who have accepted an offered place and their parents are invited to the College for a pre-arrival even during the Summer term of Year 11.
Step 7: Arrival
New Sixth Form pupils are welcomed in the Michaelmas term of Year 12.
Our pupils reside in 42 countries, represent 36 nationalities, with 17 languages spoken at home. This gives our community a rich cultural diversity which, in turn, is united by the common characteristic of all Marlburians to make the most of the extensive opportunities available to them. Within the UK, pupils come from a broad range of schools, both state and independent; we are privileged to have pupils from more than 260 different schools within the College making us an inclusive and diverse community.
We look for overseas pupils who do not simply wish to develop their intellectual potential but to broaden their interests beyond the curriculum, to contribute to College life and who wish to experience a British full boarding school culture. Marlborough is very much a seven-day-a-week full boarding school and, with the exception of holidays and exeat weekends, all boarders are present and active in College every day of the week.
All overseas candidates need to have a command of the English language and sit the same entrance papers as UK candidates. In line with the College’s commitment to providing a high-quality education for pupils from a variety of cultural backgrounds, our Learning Support Department delivers English as an Additional Language (EAL) support. The EAL provision is flexible in order to take into account the educational backgrounds and experiences of our pupils and their linguistic abilities and needs.
We are located within easy access of the UK’s two main airports. London Heathrow is one hour away and London Gatwick is two hours. We can arrange transport via coach or car to these airports and into London at the school breaks. All overseas pupils are asked to have a guardian in the UK.
Marlborough College is licensed as a child student sponsor by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to sponsor pupils who require visas to study in the United Kingdom. Subject to certain requirements being met, the College will issue a ‘Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies’ (CAS) reference number to a pupil requiring a visa if they have been offered and accepted a place to study at the College.
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