Marlborough waitlist - is there any chance a space will come up?

[Cocodmackie]

Hello my son has been offered a place at Sherborne boys for 2028 entry and waitlist for Marlborough College. Marlborough is our number 1 choice but wondering if it’s even worth waiting? Don’t give you a rank as to where your child sits and the likelihood of even getting a place. Anyone have any advice please. I think I need to look at some other boarding schools as Sherborne logistically isn’t ideal for us. Many thanks

You cannot win here

Get asked for an honest opinion

give it and then get slated

and no of course they didn’t sense that. They were just unpleasant, rude and frankly quite thick

Thank you this is a really helpful assessment. Have heard lovely things about Oundle. Only draw back is location for us as we are in the Home Counties and my daughter 2 years younger than son wants all girls for senior so logistics will be an issue as also have younger son in yr 3. I’ve booked in for a tour however so if I may be persuaded.
others I’m considering is Canford, St Edward’s Oxford, Sherborne (have a place there).

Agreed, Oundle is a pain to get to for so many of us!

that does though give it its character and charm as it keeps us out and lots of other delightful DC go there as a result! LOL :-)

in terms of the other schools. I do know one DD at Teddies but I don’t feel qualified to opine, suffice to say the only thing I’ve heard is that they are upping their academics because apparently in the past it was considered too soft on that side.

we know quite a few at canford. All very happy, no complaints at all. Lovely campus, good results and apparently a very caring school. Only I would say is that it’s not top end of sport, if that matters to you (it doesn’t to our friends hence they have not mentioned it)

sherbourne girls my info is well out of date so I can’t comment. Sherbourne boys we know current pupils. Again, very happy: strong on sport including rugby and great character building. Interestingly a lot of the boys we know who are current pupils are second or third generation to go there so that says a lot. There has been historically a fair amount of noise on MN about bullying (you can search for it) but I’ve heard no IRL reports of that from friends or DC.

Golly not my experience at all with Marlborough students - I have a DC there.

Delightful, bright and extremely polite pupils.

Am sure Oundle also a great school - my DC has done various sports there and had a nice time. But not a great location for us.

I don't think it is massively helpful to start calling children thick though - I mean Marlborough has over 1000 pupils.

Caveat: Just the boys we met were.

Golly not my experience at all with Marlborough students - I have a DC there.

Not my experience either. My dd was there and her closest friends today are those she met at Marlborough - all of them lovely.

I think the above says way more about you than it does the school.

Oundle is a great school but I would take the value added thing with a pinch of salt, at least at A level, given that they manage out underachievers pretty systematically post GCSE. It happened to two different families we know (both with diligent but not v academic children), so something for people to be aware of if they have a DC who might just scrape in.

Good point

I have heard about that before on the grapevine (though have no direct or indirect experience of it so don’t know how common it is)

Wow I can’t believe schools here actually do that. Poor child! Not everyone is academic or needs to get top grades to succeed and be happy in life. 🥹 that is good to know, thank you

To be fair lots of schools do this and also they tend to only take the brightest at sixth form so that can skew results.

I wish more schools published results of children who have gone all the way through a school as that would be interesting.

I have personally known kids managed out at Eton and Magdalen College School, and I don’t know that many people. It’s extremely common.

“Managed out” is completely common across both sectors if it means achieving a certain level of points across GCSEs in X amount of subjects, and minimum grade in some subjects to take them at A level. Kids simply won’t do well in A levels without a 7 plus (at least in some subjects). For Maths, it is more like 8 and FM 9 and Physics similar. It is completely standard. So if a candidates is going to be achieving 5, 6 and 7s in an academic school, of course it will be suggested that they should look at alternative options which suit them better.
At a school like Eton, most boys will be getting a 9 or 8 in their Maths GCSE. Go look up the results to see for yourself if they publish them. A lot of selective state Sixth Forms won’t let kids in without minimum 6/7 in Maths and English either.
Some of the academic private schools won’t offer BTECs either and alternative qualifications that suit more average achievers (nothing wrong with being average at all!). Best to get hold of list of A levels taken and the subjects the kids take to get a feel for the school at A level stage.

Also, most kids do CAT style tests in private schools (even if they do not do ISEB) and in state schools they do KS2 SATS so parents should really know where their child sits academically and what will be a good fit. “Getting in” and tutoring etc to up scores temporarily is never really a good idea, unless it is to plug gaps due to ill health, EAL etc, moving schools/country.

Oundle parent here and have witnessed several gcse “manage-outs”.
the policy is clear. If you are at risk you get called in for discussions to say at risk and sent a letter. This is November prior to GCSE’s. There is then a managed program to see if attitude can be improved over the coming months and the decision is taken in August post results.
I know several who got the letter and the majority of those stayed for sixth form because they chose to do better .
it is NOT about academic performance . This is completely wrong. DC have friends who only got 5/6 etc in some GCSE’s and this is not taken into account for sixth form entry. It’s ALL about attitude. Is the child doing their best or are they messing around/shirking work and being disruptive? It’s those who get the letters. Some decide to get their heads down and play ball (and stay on) but others decide they are square pegs in round holes and move to more artistic /liberal type schools for sixth form instead.
oundle is a school for busy children who like to work hard and play hard. Anyone caught kicking their heels and not getting involved in “stuff” will find they feel left behind at this school which takes fairly average kids and turns them into pretty dynamic self starters. for the most part !
it’s a joy that it’s not too close to the home counties as you get just a more down to earth (and less monied?!) type of pupil.
Marlborough also a good similar school but serves a different geographic market to Oundle.
pity whichever school gets the Royals as it will mess things up for existing pupils with security measures. Marlborough is the obvious mixed sex boarding school within reach of Windsor. They looked at Oundle too which would have made sense if they were still based in Norfolk.
the social climbers will be “managed out” by the Windsors don’t worry. They will smell the desperation a mile off 😂

I have a colleague who is choosing Sherborne because she thinks they offer the most flexibility at GCSE to every sort of boy. So all the way from from 12 GCSEs (triple science, triple language, additional maths) - to someone taking 8 GCSEs only and not having to do English lit at all. I think her son is really strong at science/maths/wants to do computer science but dislikes English so only wants to do the compulsory English language GCSE (dyslexic child and highly highly able in maths).
At least, that is how I understood it. I think most private schools still make you do English lit. Some even make a child take triple science.
Unis like high grades in English language and some private schools have sort of neglected that a bit (or so she said). I think Sherborne would equally allow loads of languages and humanities and double science instead. They are basically more flexible on options and amount of GCSEs taken than some other schools and I think also more flexible at A level/BTEC than most other private schools. Or so my colleague said - not a Sherborne parent myself.

Marlborough amongst my colleagues and family is the sporty, arty all rounder school aimed at kids who are aiming for As and Bs in their A levels primarily. Fewer straight A star A level candidates in there so far (bearing in mind that getting three A stars or more is very rare nationally speaking anyway). Agree it could all get a lot more competitive if the Wales send their DC there, but the school can manage this if they want to, by not only going on academic achievement but focussing on other talent (sport, art, drama, music, social skills) so it is in their control, arguably. They can keep the ethos and profile, if they wish.

I’m afraid that isn’t always right - one of the children I know who was managed out was stuck into lots of things - rowing, CCF, the radio station etc, and tried their best academically but still got the letter. The parents decided to move them as they didn’t want the stress of waiting until August to see if they could stay at school. The other had had the best part of two terms off school for illness in the first year of GCSEs - they managed to get the required grades so did stay. Oundle is definitely not unique in this and as long as prospective parents understand the policy that’s fine (hence mentioning it originally when someone was talking about Oundle’s excellent results and value added). As I said, it is a great school.
Our school says that once they have accepted you, they will stick with you as long as you are trying hard- and we are currently in GCSE year with a DC that is probably not going to do amazingly, so we are quite grateful! And the results at A level should be understood in that context.

Totally agree with you about the Windsors though!

Bonkers

For what it's worth... in late summer, I met a lovely person (sorry, I am being purposely vague, here) and we chatted about future schools. I said that my DC had a place at several schools but a drawback in my mind for Marlborough was that young royals might attend, and I wouldn't want the fuss and gawking the school would draw because of that. This person simply stated, "George will NOT attend Marlborough." I thought the opinion was put forth rather factually but just shrugged and we discussed other matters. Only later did a friend tell me that the spouse of the person with whom I was chatting holds a high position within the royal organisation.

But then, in December 2025, there was a gossipy piece in the Telegraph; the writer had heard through the grapevine that Prince George was definitely going to attend Marlborough.

Which is to say... I suspect the Wales family are playing it close to the chest and will keep everyone guessing 'til the 11th hour. I wouldn't be shocked if they sent George to neither Eton nor Marlborough but surprised us all by picking somewhere like Charterhouse or Oundle or Radley.

my bet is Wellington college

Based on no insider knowledge - I wonder about them sending George away to school at all. I understand that it’s a law of their class and that both parents were sent to schools which protected them and where they thrived. But Kate also got really picked on at one earlier school I think. Also George may neither suit nor be ready for boarding. They are a super close knit family unit. I feel for the lad. He’s under enough pressure. He looks like he really knows it as well. I love that he looks like his maternal grandfather rather than the Windsors.

I don’t know if there are any schools which have day scholars but I imagine they might want to keep him close if at all possible and also in a mixed setting.
Charlotte looks like they could send her to Gordonstoun and she’d probably thrive. She’s got all her maternal grandmother’s strength - that one.

where might Prince George go to school

I understand that it’s a law of their class.

It’s not a law. Lots of upper class people send their children to day school, viz. late Duke of Westminster.