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

Well, obviously it’s not literally a law - I can see how it was good for William, Hazza and the Middletons. But I just have this feeling about George. He looks sensitive which he has every right to be BTW, and it may be too soon to be going away from his close family circle. Obvs not my business but there’s something deeply grim about the pressure he must inevitably feel. I just imagine that a day school would allow him to get home and recover after everyone will obviously be watching how well he does at everything. Awful pressure for a child.

I would be very impressed if they kept him at home and let him be a day boy.

This is obviously none of my business 😆

At boarding school, Prince George is just George and none of the boys care either way. That is the whole point of it, if he can cope with boarding (which includes his own single room and boarding school furniture and slop and living in uniform and trackies like everyone else) it gives kids like him far more normality during a crucial period of independence as teens. It arguably means he can be more normal not less. Whatever they will decide, I am sure he will be fine and has some good friends. I bet the novelty wears off pretty quickly even for the most socially climbing parents and I doubt the kids ever cared either way. I went to school with plenty of who’s who‘s and super rich, nobody cared at that age. Whatever the parents think or don’t think is separate.

I agree for older kids but I genuinely believe some kids are better going away from home later than others. I was a boarder as a sixth former and absolutely loved it. I probably would have loved it from age 11 too. But that doesn’t mean it suits every child.

But even though I am no royalist - I do think these two particular parents are likely to put the child’s needs first whatever that looks like. They clearly take parenting very seriously which is good to see.

And of course they have incredible resources to support them to do so.

Also, I think it’s a bit naive to think he will just be “George”. That’s not what the royals have found in the past and we are in very knowing times. Those kids will know the weight of who he is and I do not think it likely that it will be forgotten by all of them. You may well have known high rollers or celebrities or grand people but this lad is out of all categories. He is in a category of one and therefore incomparable to your experience I would argue.

I will say that my DD was a day girl in a school with boarders and it was not a good experience.

She absolutely had the worst of both worlds-very long days-getting back too late to have any real family time and missing out on the fun at school.

I would look carefully at how the school integrates day and boarding.
DD ended up leaving...

That’s not what the royals have found in the past and we are in very knowing times.

Im not sure what you mean by this. Afaik boys who went to school with Prince William & Harry’s haven’t betrayed them with stories of what went on at Eton (apart from the art teacher who got her revenge when fired).

William and Harry I think were better off because of how badly their parents managed their split. School would have been steadier and happier than at home.
I can imagine home being safer for someone under the pressure that George is under. Obviously it seems to be assumed he would be happier at the most suitable boarding school. I went to boarding schools as day girl and a boarder and I know that some kids did not suit boarding and some thrived. I just don’t believe you can assume anything about an individual by extrapolating from broad generalizations. Their considerations are not necessarily the same as your average Marlborough parent because he arrives already under extreme pressure.

Thank you that is very helpful. Sorry but if a dinosaur here. Is that an Instagram account?

Thank you. Will have a look. We are after a 13+ space. Oh do you mean people see what older students get in their GCSE and then might pull their child’s 13+ spot if they don’t think it’s high enough for those in GCSE years because what that might be a poor reflection of the school? Gosh surely not given results can fluctuate annually. So strange

I think this is a bit of self promoting waffle.
there is no big change to year 9 /13+ demand following end of August gcse results. What are you basing this on? That Instagram account is brand new with no content or followers ….. yours I presume. No harm in that, but you should be open about it.

I am curious: in what ways is Oundle "way better than Marlborough," please?

Hopefully the Royals keep it a secret until first day of term to prevent this.

Unranked waitlists do move — the question is how much and when. Most movement at selective schools happens in January and March, when families finalise decisions after holding multiple offers. Calling admissions once is sensible; calling more frequently rarely helps and can make you harder to say yes to. What matters more is that the school is genuinely convinced your son wants Marlborough over everything else — schools at this level are well attuned to candidates who are holding them as a backup. I post more on how boarding school waiting lists actually work at @boardingschoolguide.

@Cocodmackie , you can find the guide in my bio on my Instagram page

Hopefully the Royals keep it a secret until first day of term to prevent this.

I’m amazed it has been kept secret as plenty of people must know where Prince George is going.

I am wondering if they will reveal which school George is heading to on his birthday at the end of July. There will be the usual press interest on that date and they usually release a photo so why not kill two birds with one stone and say 'Here is photo of George on 13th birthday , and by the way he is heading to.......'

so why not kill two birds with one stone and say 'Here is photo of George on 13th birthday , and by the way he is heading to.......'

Yes and this will provoke a thread on mumsnet with half the posters saying “why isn’t he going to state school” and the other half saying “thank God he isn’t going to state school, I don’t want my dc mixing with him’.

I was told by someone (whom I later learned is married to an employee of the royals) that George will NOT be attending Marlborough. But that was months ago, before the Telegraph article stating that he would. So, who's to know?!

I do think it odd that Kate & William went to Oundle a couple of weeks ago for their second visit if it weren't being seriously considered for at least one of their children.

The announcement I am referring to is the one on the Prince and Princess of Wales Instagram account. They release a photo and or video of the birthday child. No one is saying there has to be a thread on mumsnet, even though we both know that someone won't be able to stop themselves.... It won't be me

I was told by someone (whom I later learned is married to an employee of the royals) that George will NOT be attending Marlborough.

I suppose Eton would be more convenient given it is situated near Windsor and is close to London. But I suppose he will have to have passed the entrance tests.

“Yes and this will provoke a thread on mumsnet with half the posters saying “why isn’t he going to state school” and the other half saying “thank God he isn’t going to state school, I don’t want my dc mixing with him’.”

Hehe, they must have moved house to sit the 11 plus and rent in catchment for any grammars in Slough… what scammers! [Are there any grammars in Slough?] There is Holyport College. They do boarding…

Technically speaking, Prince George still needs to pass his Common Entrance! So what exactly is there to announce at this stage?

Does anyone think he actually needs to pass entrance tests? Do people think Harry passed the tests for Eton? He got in ok. I can’t imagine even Eton would turn George away. Maybe the schools don’t even know for sure if he’s going? They could have accepted more than one place? And turn the others down more last minute?

I think with Harry there were extenuating circumstances. His mother died as he entered his final year at prep school. It wasn't an expected death that he would have had some time to prepare for what was going to happen. I therefore consider that no one was going to destroy what was left of his self confidence by telling him he wasn't academically bright enough to join his older brother at Eton. Harry may have done a lot to disappoint in his adult life but I don't begrudge him his place at Eton.