The College's curriculum broadly follows and extends the National Curriculum to allow for a proper combination of breadth and specialisation. It is designed to stimulate, challenge and support all pupils.

The curriculum is supported by a wide range of academic extension and enrichment activities through societies, lectures, theatre trips, museum and gallery visits, debates, poetry readings, conference and concerts creating a full co-curriculum which recognises that qualifications alone do not produce a broadly educated person.

Time is allowed in the curriculum for extra-curricular activities, and on occasions the timetable is suspended or modified to allow activities to occur, such as CCF/OA field days, sports fixtures and subject-specific day trips.

The Marlborough College curriculum is designed to ensure that every individual maximises their potential. There is a clear focus placed upon success in public examinations, but the College also takes seriously its responsibility in preparing pupils to succeed beyond the College, at University, and in their subsequent career.

There are five yeargroups in the College split between Upper and Lower Schools.

During the Shell (Year 9) year, pupils maintain the broadest possible curriculum in order to introduce them to the range of subjects available at Marlborough and options are kept to a minimum.

In the Remove (Year 10) and Hundred (Year 11) pupils will study a core of compulsory subjects to GCSE: English, a modern foreign language, Maths and the three Sciences - Biology, Chemistry and Physics. They will do GCSE Religious Studies. They will also continue to study Information Technology and Physical Education.

In the Upper School, pupils have a choice whether to follow the pattern of A level qualifications or to take the International Baccalaureate Diploma. In addition, some subjects have chosen to follow the Cambridge Board Pre-U course.

Subjects are taught in departmental areas to give all pupils the advantage of specialist facilities such as laboratories, art studios, computer suites, design technology workshops and modern language suites. The Memorial Library is located in the heart of the College and holds an extensive range of resources, with fiction and non-fiction. This provision is well supported by specialist departmental libraries where pupils can find more in-depth resources.

All pupils undergo an induction programme in the library, and extensive use of the facility is made in the Shell through the Form course to inculcate the full range of study and research skills. The curricular provision is regularly reviewed to ensure that it best serves the interests of all pupils, and departments are responsible for the development of their particular subject area.

Schemes of work are reviewed annually and are designed to ensure that lessons are correctly focused and that all pupils, regardless of their particular needs, are able to make progress through the school.