Pupils can be involved in the production of a number of College publications. Some of these are aimed primarily at an internal readership whilst others are circulated more widely in the public domain.
The Marlburian The Heretick Piccalilli
The Marlburian is the College’s most prestigious magazine and is intended for pupils, parents, prospective parents and those who have a particular interest in the College. The magazine also has an important role as an archive document.
It is published in the Autumn each year and takes account of the College’s activities in the preceding academic year as well as providing features on issues or topics of more general interest to its readers.
The magazine has a long-standing tradition at the College having an almost uninterrupted run since its inception shortly after the founding of the College, although during that time it has passed through various evolutions in terms of its role and appearance.
The Heretick
The Heretick stumbled into existence in 1924, the brainchild of the pupil and budding poet, John Betjeman.
In it, Betjeman included the articles and opinions of his friends, including Anthony Blunt who left Marlborough to become a member of the infamous ‘Cambridge Five’ spies.
Its wry articles fought the overpowering sporting ethos of the College at the time, attempting to prove the might of intellectual thought over physical prowess, hence its motto ‘Upon Philistia Will I Triumph.’ From the start, articles were designed both to provoke and illuminate.
Given a recent facelift, today’s Heretick is packed with a plethora of articles on subjects as diverse as Descartes and Morris dancing. Political concerns range from berating MPs and analysing world events to despairing at the gushing bureaucracy necessary to apply to university!
The magazine is still largely pupil generated and editions are published roughly once a term.
The Piccalilli magazine was set up in 2002 by a number of Sixth Form creative writing enthusiasts who wished to showcase the best of Marlborough students’ prose, poetry and art work. The magazine is published about twice each year and 2006 saw the first professionally printed edition.