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Schools / Marlborough College

Marlborough College

Marlborough College is an independent co-educational boarding school in Marlborough, Wiltshire. Its main point of entry is Year 9 (13+), assessed in Year 6: ISEB Pre-Tests, a school reference and a January assessment day, with offers at the end of the Lent term and no Common Entrance condition published.

RegionSouth West
AdmissionsSchool admissions page
DfE URN126516

The exam

Athena holds admission-route records for Marlborough College. They are shown by entry cycle below; where the provider changes between cycles, each cycle keeps its own recorded exam.

Registration deadline: register by 9 October of Year 6. Registration for these schools closes well before the entrance tests — check the school's own admissions page for the exact form and dates.

2027 entry

  • ISEB Common Pre-TestsStage A — pre-test at 11+

    Set by ISEB (tests commissioned from GL Assessment)

    Confirmation: Confirmed on school reports — no confirmation exam

    Register by: 9 October of Year 6

    13+ entry - Stage 1 (the 11+ pre-test stage, in Year 6): candidates for Marlborough sit the ISEB Pre-Tests between September and December of Year 6 (register by 9 October of Year 6; bursary applications by 1 July of Year 5), with a school reference and a January assessment day (writing task, group activities, interview); offers follow at the end of Lent term. See the school's Independent School 13+ Entry route for the full pathway.

    9489 published practice questions tagged for this exam

    Route record: unverified · Route source

  • Independent School 13+ Entry (Common Entrance & Scholarship)Stage B — confirmation at 13+

    Set by ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers

    Confirmation: Confirmed on school reports — no confirmation exam

    Register by: 9 October of Year 6

    Marlborough assesses in Year 6 (register by 9 October; bursary applications by 1 July of Year 5): ISEB Pre-Tests, a school reference and a January assessment day (writing task, group activities, interview), with offers at the end of Lent term. No Common Entrance condition or standard is published on its official 13+ pages (UNVERIFIED).

    Route record: unverified · Route source

2028 entry

  • ISEB Common Pre-TestsStage A — pre-test at 11+

    Set by ISEB (tests commissioned from GL Assessment)

    Confirmation: Confirmed on school reports — no confirmation exam

    Register by: 9 October of Year 6

    13+ entry - Stage 1 (the 11+ pre-test stage, in Year 6): candidates for Marlborough sit the ISEB Pre-Tests between September and December of Year 6 (register by 9 October of Year 6; bursary applications by 1 July of Year 5), with a school reference and a January assessment day (writing task, group activities, interview); offers follow at the end of Lent term. See the school's Independent School 13+ Entry route for the full pathway.

    9489 published practice questions tagged for this exam

    Route record: unverified · Route source

  • Independent School 13+ Entry (Common Entrance & Scholarship)Stage B — confirmation at 13+

    Set by ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers

    Confirmation: Confirmed on school reports — no confirmation exam

    Register by: 9 October of Year 6

    Marlborough assesses in Year 6 (register by 9 October; bursary applications by 1 July of Year 5): ISEB Pre-Tests, a school reference and a January assessment day (writing task, group activities, interview), with offers at the end of Lent term. No Common Entrance condition or standard is published on its official 13+ pages (UNVERIFIED).

    Route record: unverified · Route source

Key dates & preparation

2028 entry

Test: Stage A pre-assessment during Year 6 (some schools assess in Year 7); confirmation — Common Entrance or the school’s own process — in May/June of Year 8 (see the route description for this school’s exact model)

Results: Conditional offers follow the Stage A assessment, typically by the spring of Year 6

Offers: Places are confirmed in Year 8 once the school’s confirmation condition is met (see the route description)

When to start preparing: Start preparing in the spring term of Year 5 (the standing rule: about 18 months before the test).

General guidance: this follows the rule of thumb of starting about 18 months before the test. It is not the school's own published advice.

Source: official admissions information · checked 2026-10-28

2027 entry

Test: Stage A pre-assessment during Year 6 (some schools assess in Year 7); confirmation — Common Entrance or the school’s own process — in May/June of Year 8 (see the route description for this school’s exact model)

Results: Conditional offers follow the Stage A assessment, typically by the spring of Year 6

Offers: Places are confirmed in Year 8 once the school’s confirmation condition is met (see the route description)

When to start preparing: Start preparing in the spring term of Year 5 (the standing rule: about 18 months before the test).

General guidance: this follows the rule of thumb of starting about 18 months before the test. It is not the school's own published advice.

Source: official admissions information · checked 2026-10-28

Admissions rules

No catchment — open competition

There is no catchment area. Entry at 13+ is governed by the school’s own pre-assessment and confirmation process (see the route description); registration deadlines fall early — typically during Year 5 or Year 6 — and places at this level are heavily oversubscribed.

Read the school's admissions policy

Results & destinations

2025 results

A level: Average point score per A level entry 45.01 (average grade A-); 24.8% of A level students achieved AAB or higher

DfE performance tables

Source: official source · checked 2026-10-28

2024 results

A level: Average point score per A level entry 46.38 (average grade A-)

DfE performance tables

University destinations:

  • 70 leavers — UK top-10 universities — counted from school-published destinations list
  • 7 leavers — Oxford or Cambridge — Summed from the destinations table in the school's 2024–25 School Profile — the same table counted for this school's top-10 row: Oxford 5 + Cambridge 2 (places).

Source: official source · checked 2026-10-28

Athena counts a fixed UK top-10: University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, London School of Economics, University College London, Durham University, King's College London, University of Edinburgh, University of St Andrews and University of Warwick.

Scholarships & bursaries

Schemes recorded from the school's own published information. A scholarship is a merit award; a bursary is means-tested. Values are shown exactly as the school states them — where a scheme is honorary, its stated value says so.

13+ entry

  • Academic Scholarship

    ScholarshipAcademic

    What is assessed: Scholarship assessment for pupils who have gained a 13+ place through the Entry Assessment process; detailed criteria are in the College's 13+ Scholarship Prospectus

    When: Year 8 (dates in the College's Key Application and Assessment Dates)

    What it's worth: Honorary — no reduction in fees; access to the scholarship programme

    How to apply: Place holders apply in Year 8

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

  • Art Scholarship

    ScholarshipArt

    What is assessed: Scholarship assessment for pupils who have gained a 13+ place through the Entry Assessment process; detailed criteria are in the College's 13+ Scholarship Prospectus

    When: Year 8 (dates in the College's Key Application and Assessment Dates)

    What it's worth: Honorary — no reduction in fees; access to the scholarship programme

    How to apply: Place holders apply in Year 8

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

  • Design Technology Scholarship

    ScholarshipOther

    What is assessed: Scholarship assessment for pupils who have gained a 13+ place through the Entry Assessment process; detailed criteria are in the College's 13+ Scholarship Prospectus

    When: Year 8 (dates in the College's Key Application and Assessment Dates)

    What it's worth: Honorary — no reduction in fees; access to the scholarship programme

    How to apply: Place holders apply in Year 8

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

  • Drama Scholarship

    ScholarshipDrama

    What is assessed: Scholarship assessment for pupils who have gained a 13+ place through the Entry Assessment process; detailed criteria are in the College's 13+ Scholarship Prospectus

    When: Year 8 (dates in the College's Key Application and Assessment Dates)

    What it's worth: Honorary — no reduction in fees; access to the scholarship programme

    How to apply: Place holders apply in Year 8

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

  • Music Scholarship

    ScholarshipMusic

    What is assessed: Scholarship assessment for pupils who have gained a 13+ place through the Entry Assessment process; detailed criteria are in the College's 13+ Scholarship Prospectus

    When: Year 8 (dates in the College's Key Application and Assessment Dates)

    What it's worth: Honorary — no reduction in fees; access to the scholarship programme

    How to apply: Place holders apply in Year 8

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

  • Director's Award — Music

    AwardMusic

    What is assessed: Awarded at the discretion of the Director of Music / Director of Sport to pupils of outstanding excellence joining the College

    When: On entry (Shell or Lower Sixth)

    What it's worth: Up to 20% of fees

    How to apply: No separate application — awarded at the Directors' discretion

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

  • Director's Award — Sport

    AwardSport

    What is assessed: Awarded at the discretion of the Director of Music / Director of Sport to pupils of outstanding excellence joining the College

    When: On entry (Shell or Lower Sixth)

    What it's worth: Up to 20% of fees

    How to apply: No separate application — awarded at the Directors' discretion

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

  • Sport Awards

    AwardSport

    What is assessed: Sport awards for the duration of the pupil's first year (Shell), after which a number are converted into scholarships — the College does not offer 13+ sport scholarships directly because of candidate volume

    When: First year at the College

    What it's worth: Honorary — no reduction in fees

    How to apply: Awarded on entry performance for 13+ place holders

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

  • Means-tested bursaries

    BursaryOther

    What is assessed: Means-tested bursaries assessed on family finances (no examination); see the College's bursaries pages

    When: Bursary applications for 13+ entry are made early — by 1 July of Year 5 in the registration cycle

    What it's worth: Value not stated on the school's published pages

    How to apply: Separate bursary application alongside registration

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

16+ entry

  • Academic Scholarship

    ScholarshipAcademic

    What is assessed: Scholarship assessment for Sixth Form entrants who have gained a place through the Entry Assessment process

    When: Applications by 1 October of Year 11

    What it's worth: Honorary — no reduction in fees; access to the scholarship programme

    How to apply: Apply at the same time as registration, by 1 October of Year 11

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

  • Music Scholarship

    ScholarshipMusic

    What is assessed: Scholarship assessment for Sixth Form entrants who have gained a place through the Entry Assessment process

    When: Applications by 1 October of Year 11

    What it's worth: Honorary — no reduction in fees; access to the scholarship programme

    How to apply: Apply at the same time as registration, by 1 October of Year 11

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

  • Sport Scholarship

    ScholarshipSport

    What is assessed: Scholarship assessment for Sixth Form entrants who have gained a place through the Entry Assessment process

    When: Applications by 1 October of Year 11

    What it's worth: Honorary — no reduction in fees; access to the scholarship programme

    How to apply: Apply at the same time as registration, by 1 October of Year 11

    Official scholarship information

    Checked 2026-10-28

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