50 Years of Girls Celebrations – A Recent Reminiscence

by Checkie Hamilton (MO 2013-18)

It seems odd being asked to reminisce about my time at Marlborough having only left the College a mere few months ago. It seems perfectly natural to be back at the beginning of September and I have even been mistaken for a student giving a house tour this morning!

Arriving at Marlborough in 2013 was certainly a shock from my small all-girls prep school in Dorset. We arrived in trepidation having heard the rumours of the boys rating the girls in an X-factor manner when walking through Norwood. Fortunately this proved to be merely an outdated rumour and after a few days the boys seemed far less intimidating.

In my first year I was aware of an imbalance of girls and boys, particularly in my form class of 4 girls and 10 boys, but the girls have always punched above their weight, and with the creation and growth of two new girls houses, Ivy and Dancy, during my time here, we now have a much more equal balance.

Today, it is certainly true to say that Marlborough could not be Marlborough without the girls. They provide a normal social dynamic akin to the real world outside the so called “Marlborough bubble” as well as rivalling the boys in all disciplines, including expanding into traditional boys sports such as cricket and football.

I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to play in a boys cricket team whilst at Marlborough and perhaps one of my proudest moments was getting a wicket against Eton who seemed almost unaware of what a girl was, let alone that they could play cricket.

So 50 years on, it’s true to say that girls are thriving at Marlborough, just as Marlborough is thriving with girls.