Rigorous academic programmes and high quality teaching will, it is hoped, instill a love of learning for its own sake amongst pupils. Pupils of all ages are expected to develop a spirit of scholarly enthusiasm through making the most of the many cultural and academic opportunities available to them within and beyond formal lessons.
The first, or Shell, year offers the opportunity to explore intellectual possibility. A coherent, integrated curriculum in the humanities (known as 'Form') asks pupils to think for themselves, regardless of previous school or system. This humanities course, which embraces English, History and Religious Studies, aims not to fill minds but to excite them. It challenges the youngest Marlburians to risk an opinion, to listen to the voice of others, to explore intellectual pathways, perhaps previously untrodden, and to discover new academic passions.
The Remove (second) and Hundred (third) years at Marlborough involve GCSE and IGCSE courses. We require a core commitment of English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Religious Studies and dual-award Science at this level. In addition, all pupils take a number of optional subjects, which must include a modern foreign language; the wide range of choices includes Greek, Chinese, Italian and Astronomy.
Our Sixth Form curriculum is varied and rich. Two paths are offered: the IB Diploma and the 'A'-Level/Pre-U route. The IB Diploma is internationally recognized and rewards all the areas which the College prizes so highly: intellectual rigour, community service, physical activity and critical thinking. Added to this, the introduction of the pre-U qualification by some departments instead of A level courses and the rise of the Extended Project Qualification (a piece of individual research: which is, this year, being taken by over seventy Marlburians) enhance the focus of a rich and academically rigorous profile.
At all times pupils are supported by a dedicated team of tutors and careers advisers who offer expert advice on the choice of school subjects, on Gap year placements, on proposed university degrees, and -not least-on the world of work.