Malvern College
Sapiens Qui Prospicit
Founded in 1865 on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills, Malvern College counts the writer C.S. Lewis among its former pupils, and sets out to develop the whole person, pairing real academic challenge with emotional awareness and a genuinely international outlook. The school remains co-educational and academically broad, offering both A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate Diploma.
Key Facts
Location : Malvern, Worcestershire
Type : Co-educational, boarding and day
Age Range : 13 to 18
Pupil Numbers : Approx. 640 pupils
Founded : 1865
Motto : Sapiens Qui Prospicit ("Wise Is the Person Who Looks Ahead")
Academic Profile
Pupils at Malvern take their GCSEs before entering a Sixth Form that offers a choice of A Levels or the International Baccalaureate, which Malvern was among the first in the country to teach. Old Malvernians proceed to leading universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, and the London School of Economics.
Co-Curricular Life
Music is a genuine strength, taught in a music school with a concert space, practice rooms, and recording studios, and supported by Malvern's standing as an All-Steinway school, with pupils reaching the National Schools Symphony Orchestra. Drama has its own Rogers Theatre, staging work from Shakespeare to contemporary ensemble pieces, and the visual arts are served by well-equipped studios spanning painting, sculpture, photography, and design, with facilities for 3D printing, laser cutting, and woodwork. Sport is played on two tracks, for performance and for participation, across a sports complex with an indoor pool, sports hall, and fitness suite, and the college's setting on the Malvern Hills supports a nationally regarded outdoor education and expeditions programme.
Admissions Essentials
Pupils join Malvern College in Year 9, at age thirteen, with registration recommended two to three years ahead of entry. Candidates may enter through the 13+ Common Entrance examination taken in the summer term of the year of entry, the College's own Entrance Tests, sat in the autumn or spring term, for those not prepared for Common Entrance, or the ISEB Common Academic Scholarship examination in the spring term. A further, smaller number of places are available in Year 10 and Year 11, and around thirty pupils join the Sixth Form each year. At Year 9 entry, scholarships are available across a range of categories, including academic, music, art, sport, and drama.
In Essence
For a child being prepared as much for life as for examinations, Malvern sets genuine academic challenge alongside the character traits of the Malvern Qualities, kindness, humility, and independence among them, treated as habits to live by.