Marlborough College admissions: a parent’s guide
Nestled in the Wiltshire countryside, Marlborough College is one of the UK's most prestigious independent schools – and one of the most competitive to get into.
Founded in 1843, Marlborough is a full-boarding co-educational school for around 1,000 pupils aged 13 to 18, set on a 286-acre campus on the edge of the historic market town of Marlborough. It was the first major British boys' boarding school to admit girls into the Sixth Form, in 1968, and became fully co-educational in 1989. Today, the school's ethos pairs academic ambition with character, creativity and community – and that mix is what most families come to Marlborough looking for.
This guide explains how admission to Marlborough actually works in 2026, what the school is looking for at each stage and how to give your child the best possible chance of a successful application. If you'd like to understand more about how we support families through senior school admissions, you can explore our school search and placement service at any point.
What's new for 2026: College House
The most significant recent change at Marlborough is the opening of College House in September 2026 – the school's new seventeenth house, and its first house dedicated to day pupils. Until now, Marlborough has been a full-boarding school; College House makes it possible for local families to access the same education without their child boarding overnight.
College House is a sympathetic conversion of the Master's Lodge, a 19th-century building by Edward Blore (the architect who designed the original façade of Buckingham Palace). It is also Marlborough's first fully co-educational house, with both shared and discrete spaces for boys and girls.
Day pupils in College House will follow the same academic, sporting and co-curricular programme as boarders. According to Marlborough's day house page, pupils will arrive between 7.15am and 8am, and may stay through to the end of evening Prep at 9pm – or until 10pm if there are activities such as drama rehearsals or sports fixtures. The day fee will be approximately 80% of the boarding fee, with a Founders' Fee available for the first cohort.
The house will open in September 2026 with 40–60 pupils across the Shell (Year 9), Remove (Year 10) and Lower Sixth (Year 12) year groups, growing to a full complement of around 100 pupils by September 2028.
For families within a sensible commute of Marlborough, this opens a route into the school that simply didn't exist before.
The admissions process
Marlborough admits pupils at two main points: 13+ (Year 9) and 16+ (Sixth Form). The majority of pupils enter at 13+, and the assessment process for that entry point happens much earlier than many parents expect – primarily in Year 6, not at the end of Year 8.
Here's how it works in practice, drawn directly from Marlborough's own 13+ entry guidance.
13+ Entry (the main route)
Initial visit (Year 4 or Year 5) – Most families begin by visiting on an Open Day or House Visit Afternoon. This is the moment to get a feel for the school and ask questions.
Registration (by end of Year 5 recommended; closing date 9th October of Year 6) – Families complete the online registration form via the Marlborough OpenApply portal and pay a non-refundable registration fee of £360 (inc. VAT).
Enrolment for assessment (by 9th October of Year 6) – Registered families are contacted in the summer following Year 5 and asked to confirm enrolment.
ISEB Pre-Tests (September–December of Year 6) – Children sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test at their own school. This is an online, adaptive assessment covering English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
School reference (Michaelmas Term, Year 6) – Marlborough requests a confidential reference from the child's current school.
Assessment Day at the College (January of Year 6) – Shortlisted candidates attend an assessment day involving a short writing task, informal group activities and an interview. Marlborough explicitly aims to make this day as pressure-free as possible.
Offers (end of Lent Term, Year 6) – Place offers and waiting list offers are made after the assessment day. Families confirm their intention to accept.
House Visit Day (Summer Term, Year 6) – Children with confirmed places are invited back to view boarding houses and meet Housemasters and Housemistresses, after which boarding house preferences are invited. Formal house offers follow, with acceptance by early July of Year 6 and an acceptance deposit then payable.
A smaller cohort is assessed in Year 7 (registration deadline 9th October of Year 7, assessment day in February of Year 7), and a small number of late places may be available for assessment in Year 8.
If you're navigating the ISEB Pre-Test for the first time, our guides to 11+ assessments and 13+ Common Entrance walk through exactly what's tested and how to prepare without over-tutoring.
16+ Entry (Sixth Form)
For Sixth Form entry, the process is more compressed:
Registration via the OpenApply portal
Subject-specific entrance assessments in the candidate's proposed A-Level subjects
An interview with academic staff
Conditional offers based on predicted and actual GCSE grades
Sixth Form places are limited, and competition is high. For the most up-to-date 16+ procedure, refer to Marlborough's 16+ entry page.
What Marlborough is actually looking for
Marlborough is academically selective, but it isn't solely an academic school. The admissions team consistently describes the College as looking for well-rounded, curious and engaged children – pupils who will throw themselves into the wider life of the school as well as the classroom. That ethos shows up at every stage of the process:
The interview is a real conversation. Strong candidates can talk thoughtfully about a book they've read, a subject they've enjoyed or something happening in the world – and are equally happy to listen and disagree.
The assessment day group activities look at how a child collaborates, listens and contributes – not who shouts loudest.
The school reference is requested in the Michaelmas Term of Year 6 and weighed alongside the Pre-Test and assessment day.
This is exactly the territory our Character Journey and 3-session interview package are designed to support: helping children find their voice, develop intellectual confidence and walk into the room as themselves.
Marlborough College fees 2025–26
The financial commitment is significant. The published fees for the 2025–26 academic year are:
Full boarding fee (inc. VAT): £61,809 per annum (£20,603 per term)
Day fee (inc. VAT): £49,449 per annum (£16,483 per term)
In addition, families should budget for:
Registration fee: £360 (one-off, non-refundable, inc. VAT)
Acceptance fee for pupils joining in Michaelmas 2026: £2,500 (VAT exempt). 50% is credited to the pupil's account at the end of their first term and the other 50% when they leave – but is non-refundable if a child withdraws after the 14-day cancellation period.
Extras: uniform, textbooks, school trips, music lessons and co-curricular activities
Fees for later years of entry are confirmed by the school each spring – always check Marlborough's official fees page for the most up-to-date figures.
Scholarships and bursaries
At 13+, Marlborough awards scholarships in five disciplines: Academic, Art, Design Technology, Drama and Music. A separate Sport Awards scheme operates for pupils' first year, after which a number of these may be converted into scholarships. At 16+, scholarships are available in Academic, Music and Sport.
Importantly – and this is a common point of confusion – Marlborough's scholarships are honorary: they carry no reduction in fees. What they do offer is access to a dedicated scholarship programme of tutorials, mentorship and enrichment alongside the formal title. Scholarships must be applied for separately and require an additional examination, portfolio or audition. Full details are on Marlborough's scholarships page.
Marlborough also offers Directors' Awards in Music and Sport, awarded at the discretion of the Director of Music or Director of Sport to a small number of pupils joining the Shell or Lower Sixth. These carry a fee reduction of up to 20%.
For families needing financial support, bursaries are means-tested and can cover up to 100% of fees. The bursary application deadline is 1st July of Year 5 for children being assessed in Year 6 (or Year 6, for those assessed in Year 7). Families should contact the admissions team for a bursary application form around the Easter of Year 5.
Key dates and the school calendar
Marlborough operates on the traditional three-term boarding school year, broadly:
Michaelmas Term: early September to mid-December
Lent Term: early January to late March
Summer Term: late April to early July
Each term includes a half-term break and Exeat weekends for boarders. The school's annual Commemoration Day in June is the highlight of the calendar, with prize-giving and performances. Exact dates change each year – Marlborough publishes its current and forthcoming dates on its term dates page.
How competitive is it?
Genuinely competitive. Marlborough offers around 180 places at 13+ each year – making it one of the larger 13+ intakes among the most selective boarding schools – and typically receives several hundred registrations. The strongest applications combine a confident ISEB Pre-Test performance, a thoughtful interview and a school reference that paints a picture of a kind, curious, engaged child.
Sixth Form entry is similarly competitive, with fewer places overall and a high proportion of internal candidates already at the school.
Notable alumni
Marlborough's alumni – known as Old Marlburians – span the arts, politics, business and public service. The school's most recognisable recent former pupil is HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales. Other distinguished Old Marlburians include the Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, war poet Siegfried Sassoon, travel writer Bruce Chatwin, the pioneering yachtsman and aviator Sir Francis Chichester, model Stella Tennant, Oscar-winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell, musician Chris de Burgh and comedian Jack Whitehall.
Preparing your child the Oppidan way
Marlborough's process rewards genuine confidence and character – not coaching. Children who arrive at the assessment day already comfortable in their own opinions, used to engaging adults in conversation and able to talk thoughtfully about what they love, tend to do well.
That is precisely what Oppidan mentoring is built for. Our 1:1 mentoring pairs your child with an inspirational role model – a near-peer who can help them prepare for the ISEB Pre-Test, build interview confidence through real conversation and develop the kind of intellectual independence Marlborough is looking for. We've supported families through admissions to Marlborough and every other major UK senior school since 2016.
If you'd like to talk through your child's path to Marlborough, our team is always happy to help. Get in touch to arrange an initial call.
Frequently asked questions
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Marlborough recommends families submit the registration form by the end of Year 5 for 13+ entry, though the absolute closing date is 9th October of Year 6. Registration is via Marlborough's OpenApply portal and costs £360 (inc. VAT), which is non-refundable.
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Marlborough bases its 13+ offer on three elements: the ISEB Common Pre-Test (sat at the child's current school between September and December of Year 6), a reference from the child's current school and the child's performance on an assessment day held at the College in January of Year 6, which involves a short writing task, group activities and an interview.
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The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online, adaptive assessment used by most leading UK senior schools as part of their 13+ selection. It covers English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, and is sat at the child's own school.
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For 2025–26, full boarding fees are £61,809 per annum and day fees are £49,449 per annum, both inclusive of VAT. Additional one-off costs include a £360 registration fee and, for pupils joining in Michaelmas 2026, a £2,500 acceptance fee (VAT exempt), 50% of which is refundable at the end of the first term and 50% on leaving the school. Fees for later years of entry are confirmed each spring.
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Yes – for the first time. College House, Marlborough's new co-educational day house, opens in September 2026. Day pupils arrive from 7.15am and may stay until 9pm (or 10pm for evening activities), following the full academic and co-curricular programme. The day fee is approximately 80% of the boarding fee.
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No. Marlborough's 13+ and 16+ scholarships are honorary – they confer the scholarship title and access to a dedicated programme of tutorials, mentorship and enrichment, but carry no reduction in fees. Separately, a small number of Directors' Awards in Music and Sport are awarded at the discretion of the relevant Director and carry a fee reduction of up to 20%. Bursaries are means-tested and can cover up to 100% of fees.
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Marlborough offers 13+ scholarships in five disciplines: Academic, Art, Design Technology, Drama and Music. A separate Sport Awards scheme runs for pupils' first year, from which some may be converted into scholarships.
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Highly competitive. Marlborough offers around 180 places at 13+ each year, with several hundred registered applicants. Successful candidates combine a strong ISEB Pre-Test result, a confident and curious interview and a positive school reference.
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Marlborough recommends an initial visit in Year 4 or Year 5, via an Open Day or House Visit Afternoon, bookable through the OpenApply portal. Children with confirmed places at the end of Year 6 are invited back for a House Visit Day in the Summer Term, where they meet Housemasters and Housemistresses before House offers are made.
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Oppidan supports families through every stage of the Marlborough process – from ISEB Pre-Test preparation and school-choice strategy, to mock interviews, character mentoring and ongoing 1:1 academic support. Our 3-session interview package is built specifically for selective senior school interviews like Marlborough's. Speak to the team to discuss your child.