Marlborough College has an esteemed reputation in the UK borne from the traditions created since its opening in 1843. Over time a distinct vocabulary has evolved that is still used today at Marlborough College and other renowned boarding schools in England, and will be used at Marlborough College Malaysia.

People

Master – Principal or Headmaster
Beak – teacher
HM – the Housemaster or Housemistress who is resident in a boarding house and is responsible for the pastoral care of the pupils who live there.
Dame – a manager of domestic arrangements in a boarding house
OM – Old Marlburian – the alumni of the Marlborough Colleges
RHT – Resident House Tutor – a teacher who lives in a boarding house to support the HM
Council – the school Governing Board
Member of Council – governor
Tutor – a teacher who acts as a personal mentor to a group of pupils, known as ‘Tutees’
HoD – Head of Department – a teacher with responsibility for a specific subject
Common Room – collective term for the teaching staff
Form Tutor – teacher in charge of a class in the Pre-Prep or Prep School
Shell – the group of pupils in Year 9
Remove – the group of pupils in Year 10
Hundred – the group of pupils in Year 11
Sixth Form – the last two years of study, split into Lower Sixth (L6) and Upper Sixth (U6) years
Pre-Prep – Years Reception to Year 2 (Early Years and Key Stage 1)
Lower Prep – Years 3 and 4 (first half of Key Stage 2)
Upper Prep – Years 5 to 8 (second half of Key Stage 2)
Senior School – Years 9 to 13

Places

Health Centre or Sani (Sanatorium) – the medical centre on the school site
Out of Bounds – places in and out of the school campus where pupils are not allowed to go
Bedsits or dorms – rooms in which boarding pupils live (singles, doubles, triples, etc)
Court – the central part of school where ball games are not allowed and pupils may not walk on the grass

Events

Studies – time during a boarding pupil’s day when they should engage with personally selected reflective activities
Exeat – an extended weekend, often near the middle of a half-term when boarding pupils go home
Priv – a parent requested privilege weekend when a boarding pupil is released from school to travel home
Prep – Academic work completed during a specific daily study period for a boarding pupil, or at home by a day pupil
Gation – a punishment when a pupil is ‘gated’, or confined to his/her boarding house
Assembly – a regular gathering of pupils in forms, years, Houses, school section or whole school

Objects

Colours – awards for excellence and commitment in activities
Almanac – the Marlborough College Malaysia calendar of events on the website
House swipe – a House sports shirt
School swipe – a school sports shirt
Michaelmas Term – school study period from late August to December
Lent Term – school study period from January to March
Summer Term – school study period from April to early July
Form – a class of pupils in the Pre-Prep and Prep School
Set – a class of pupils separated by ability in a particular subject