Marlborough College 13+ entry guide

Are you thinking about applying to Marlborough College for 13+ entry? Find out everything you need to know about the admissions process and how to prepare for the entrance exam.

Key information for Marlborough College

• School type: co-educational independent full boarding school, with a new Day House opening for Year 9, 10 and 12 entry
• Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire
• Admissions contact: admissions@marlboroughcollege.org, +44 (0)1672 892300
• 13+ exam: ISEB Common Pre-Test, plus an assessment day at the College
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries, including fully funded places for eligible families
• Scholarships: check the school's scholarships page for current award categories

Important dates

• End of Year 5 (recommended): registration form submission — allows assessment in Year 6
• 9th October, Year 6: closing date for registrations (or Year 7, for those assessed a year later)
• 1st July, Year 5 (or Year 6 for Year 7 assessment): bursary application deadline
• September to December, Year 6: ISEB Common Pre-Test taken at your child's current school
• January, Year 6: assessment day at Marlborough College
• End of Lent Term, Year 6: College place and waiting list offers made
• Early July, Year 6: formal offer and acceptance, with deposit payable

How to apply to Marlborough College

Marlborough College is selective. This means your child will need to complete an entrance assessment to be eligible for a place.

The majority of pupils are assessed in Year 6, with a smaller cohort assessed in Year 7 and a limited number of short-listed applicants considered in Year 8. You can register your child when you feel ready, though the school suggests submitting the registration form by the end of Year 5. The closing date for registrations is 9th October of Year 6 (or Year 7). A non-refundable registration fee of £360 (inc. VAT) applies.

What will my child be tested on?

Marlborough's 13+ assessment is based on three elements: the ISEB Common Pre-Test, a school reference, and an assessment day at the College.

ISEB Common Pre-Test

The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online, adaptive assessment, meaning the questions get harder or easier depending on how your child is performing. It's taken at your child's current school between September and December of Year 6 (or Year 7). It assesses:

• Maths
• English
• Verbal reasoning
• Non-verbal reasoning

Assessment day

Held at the College in January of Year 6 (or February of Year 7), the assessment day is designed to be as pressure-free as possible. It includes a short writing task, informal group activities, and an interview.

School reference

Marlborough requests a reference from your child's current school during the Michaelmas Term of Year 6 (or Year 7).

How are places decided?

Places at Marlborough are based on:

• your child's performance in the ISEB Common Pre-Test
• their performance on assessment day, including the writing task, group activities and interview
• a reference from their current school

College place and waiting list offers are made towards the end of the Lent Term of Year 6 (or Year 7). Families holding a College place are then invited to a House Visit Day in the Summer Term, after which House offers and formal acceptance take place by early July.

Financial information

Marlborough College is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school's fees page for a full breakdown of fees for boarding and day pupils.

Financial assistance

When exploring independent schools for your child, scholarships and bursaries are worth considering. They can ease the pressure of school fees and open doors to opportunities that might otherwise feel out of reach.

Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded for a child's talent or achievement. While many schools focus on academic excellence, some offer awards in music, sport, drama, art, or other specialist areas.

Scholarships often come with a small fee reduction and acknowledge your child's talents, motivating them and boosting their confidence. Some schools automatically consider all applicants, while others may request an additional application, assessment or audition.

Visit Marlborough College's scholarships page to see the scholarships available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Your guide to independent school scholarships.

Bursaries

Bursaries are means-tested awards (based on a family's financial situation) designed to make independent education more accessible. Marlborough currently offers fully funded (means-tested) places for eligible families for Sixth Form and Year 9 entry.

Families provide financial information to qualify, and awards are reassessed each year. The bursary application deadline for 2027 entry is 1st July, Year 5 (or Year 6 for those assessed in Year 7) — contact the admissions team around Easter of Year 5 for an application form.

Visit Marlborough College's bursaries page to find out what's available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Bursaries: a parents' guide.

Financial support for independent school fees is more available than most families realise.

This free guide is an honest look at how scholarships and bursaries work in practice: what they cover, how the timeline unfolds from Year 4 to Year 6 and how to approach admissions with confidence.

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

One of the hardest parts of exam preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.

A clear, structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.

Atom's exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child's target schools and exam dates, and we'll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they'll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build progress in a calm, manageable way — little and often.

That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.

Build smart exam technique

As your child's knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.

Atom's mock tests are exact replicas of real entrance exams. They're also unlimited — your child can take the same test repeatedly and see new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

Atom's mock tests are automatically marked. You'll see your child's standardised age score (SAS), where they're doing well, and what they should focus on next. You'll also learn how they compare to other children applying to the same school.

Encourage regular reading

Strong reading skills play a big role in preparation for entrance exams.

Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10–15 minutes. The key is variety. Mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.

Over time, regular reading will:

• broaden their vocabulary
• improve comprehension and inference
• build confidence in tackling unseen texts

And just as importantly, it can help them enjoy reading — not just see it as exam preparation.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you're supporting your child through exam preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction — not just how they scored on a single test.

Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and the direction they're moving in. You can see where they're on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.

That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady, and focus on what matters most: consistent improvement, not just one-off results.