Rugby School vs Marlborough year 10

[MLT75]

Hello..my daughter has been accepted in both Rugby School and Marlborugh for Sept 2021 year 10..due to covid we have been unable to visit the schools and have only done virtual tours.
I need to pay term 1 fees soon and i am torn between the two. Rugby starts IB this year and it is a school that stands high in nurturing pastoral care and kindness..Marlborough is equally strong with sports and sciences and languages..can someone help with giving me the pros and cons for both schools since we will be international parents and new to this area. Pros and cons or highlights of both schools.
In the league table of 2019, Rugby ranks about Marlborough, but i would sincerely appreciate any personal information and feedback on both schools.

I’m looking at both for sept 2023 for daughter 6th form. Obviously both are famous and nationally significant schools but what I am trying get a feel for for is the school culture at each at present as this changes with the heads. Rugby very proud of its huge scholarship programme and has worked hard to soften its previously elitist image which I think is positive. Has Marlborough moved with the times in the same way or it’s reputation for narrow social range still the case? Would be interested to hear experiences of current parents. From my limited experience of open days I thought the staff at Malborough were very nice and welcoming. Also views of any ethnic minority parents very welcome as would be useful to understand what if any racism your kids experienced at either school and if sadly they did how did the school deal with it. Thanks

Giving your thread a bump because the title caught my eye. I can't comment on any recent history but I loved my time at Rugby for the sixth form twenty years ago.

Can only speak for Rugby, daughter in first year there. Fantastic pastoral support, forward thinking school and much more liberal than image. Academically work hard but lots of fun too. Good mix of UK and international students, can highly recommend.

Ethnic ex Rugby parent here, Fab school, can’t fault it.

Just to add, DS left in 2017. No incidences of racism at all. He had full support of his peers and tutors. Housemaster was amazing! Can’t fault matron. To be honest, when you’re at Rugby, you don’t feel you’re a ‘race’, you’re just you.

Thanks nuala4 - which girls house do you recommend ?

Saharasavana - thanks very good to hear.

I’m not a current parent but we looked at both schools for our DD for 6th form. In the end we chose Marlborough but I would have been happy sending. my DC to either school. We chose Marlborough because the town was much nicer but also we just felt that, at least at 6th form, Marlborough seemed more like a half way house between school and university. My DD was told she could leave the 6th form house after prep at Rugby which felt a bit closeted and claustrophobic to her. But then she said she wouldn’t have felt safe at night in Rugby where she did at Marlborough.

All the DC we know have loved Marlborough but I do think the college attracts (or breeds) a certain confident and independent type. I would say the pastoral care was good but not nurturing. I’m not sure if that makes sense but basically, the DC are well looked after but have to stand on their own two feet.

In terms of inclusivity, I must say that there aren’t many BAME students at Marlborough and my DD’s friend did report some micro aggressions. However she still loved the school and they recently had a head boy who was BAME Marlborough does have a well established bursary programme although I’m not sure it’s as large as Rugby’s. There are a lot of DC with money at Marlborough (as with all these schools) but no one is impressed by shows of wealth or defined by their wealth. In comparison with my DS’s school where there is more focus on money, this was quite refreshing.

Would DC from Rugby school actually be out at night in Rugby? Seems a slightly odd viewpoint. Rugby is perfectly safe. My friend had 2 dc at Rugby and was very happy with the school.

High Wycombe is a bit rough round the edges in the town centre but I don’t think Wycombe Abbey girls are mixing with the locals at night so no-one factors that in. It’s also very judgemental regarding local people. Marlborough is more thoroughly middle class as a town but boarding schools have their own bubbles.

Sorry my post wasn’t clear. In 6th form my DD was definitely told at Rugby that she couldn’t go out after prep. At Marlborough this was allowed with the HM’s knowledge. This gave her time to go and visit friends in other houses or just go for a walk with a friend after a busy day. She never went to Rugby so I can’t say if she would have been safe there but Marlborough essentially just felt a smaller and safer place. As I said, I would have been happy with either school. This was just one of her reasons for choosing Marlborough over Rugby.

My DDs both boarded but they were not at “town” schools so going out wasn’t really an option for them. However they were so busy in the 6th form, I don’t think they missed going out.

Both looked at alternative schools for 6th form due to subjects on offer. They both would have liked a town school but one chose to stay put (Subject offering changed) and the other moved to a school where weekend trips out were common to a nearby town where boys were available! That seemed to suit them both well enough. However it’s definitely more of a requirement for 6th formers to be let out when looking at schools but after prep is hardly nighttime. But my DDs ended up being so busy it wasn’t a factor in the end.

All girl’s houses at Rugby are good some are a bit more modernised than others - Tudor, Dean or Rupert Brooke, Bradley seem to be very popular but really best to have a ‘tour’ of a couple and meet House mistress to decide.

Hello, May I know what's the final decision? I am same situation between Rugby vs Marlborugh for my son to entry in 2023 Sixth Form, but I can't find more information about boy's house at Rugby, thx.