A small, boys-only independent school in Surrey Quays, Marathon Science School combines day places with a boarding offer across two sites. It is closely associated with Seven Hills Educational Trust, and it positions itself around strong character education and an Islamic ethos, even though its official designation lists no religious character.
The February 2025 Ofsted inspection judged the school to require improvement overall, with Good grades for behaviour and personal development, and effective safeguarding arrangements.
Size matters here. The school is registered for up to 120 boys aged 10 to 19, but recent official reporting indicates a much smaller cohort in practice, which can shape everything from subject breadth to community feel.
This is a school that puts relationships and conduct at the centre of daily life. The prevailing tone is calm and respectful, with a clear expectation that pupils will be polite, well-mannered, and considerate of staff and each other. When that culture is working, it can be a real asset for families prioritising a structured environment, particularly for students who benefit from consistency and close adult oversight.
The leadership picture is distinctive. Public-facing school information presents Salih Ezer as Head Teacher, and official records also list Mr Salih Ezer as headteacher or principal. At the same time, recent inspection documentation describes a co-headteacher model involving Uzeyir Onur alongside Salih Ezer, with one co-headteacher returning as the founding head and the other appointed in January 2024. For parents, the practical implication is straightforward, ask how responsibilities are divided day to day, and who leads on curriculum, pastoral, boarding, and safeguarding.
The school’s own language emphasises moral development, cultural identity, and a “24-hour education” concept linked to boarding. That framing is not about constant lessons, rather a deliberately organised routine where study time, supervision, and structured leisure sit alongside the formal timetable.
FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking places Marathon Science School at 3,847th in England, and 12th in Lewisham, which indicates performance below England average overall when viewed through this comparative lens (FindMySchool ranking based on official data).
On the headline attainment measures available, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 23.6, and its average EBacc APS is 1.99, with 0% recorded as achieving grades 5 or above across the EBacc measure. These figures suggest that, in the measured year, outcomes in the EBacc suite were a clear weakness relative to what many families would hope for from a secondary curriculum that aims to keep university routes broadly open.
The school’s public materials emphasise core academic subjects and describe an aim of eight GCSEs including English, mathematics, and science. They also describe post-16 study in modern foreign languages.
How to use this as a parent:
Ask for a subject-by-subject picture of GCSE entries and outcomes for the most recent cohort, including which EBacc subjects are entered and how many pupils take them.
Ask what additional support exists for literacy, particularly reading, as this has been a stated development priority in recent improvement work.
If your child is aiming for a strongly EBacc-weighted pathway, treat that as an explicit discussion point at tour and assessment stage.
Parents comparing local options can use the FindMySchool Local Hub page to view results side by side, and to understand what “below England average” looks like in nearby schools with different sizes and intakes.
England ranks and key metrics (where available)
GCSE 9–7
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% of students achieving grades 9-7
The curriculum offer is shaped by two realities. First, the school’s stated subject menu is focused, with a strong core, combined science, humanities, and computing, alongside Turkish and Arabic as modern languages and an explicit Islamic studies component. Second, as a small school, subject breadth and specialist staffing can be harder to sustain at the same scale as larger independents.
Recent improvement work has focused on making curriculum implementation more consistent, with clearer checks on what pupils know and remember, and better adaptation when gaps appear. The strongest version of this model is one where small cohorts and close monitoring translate into rapid intervention. The risk is that if specialist expertise is uneven across subjects, pupils experience variability, particularly in subjects that require experienced pedagogy for exam success.
For pupils learning English as an additional language, the admissions and policy documentation indicates assessment and support aligned to national guidance, with an emphasis on literacy development across subjects.
The school is registered through age 19 and indicates a sixth form offer, but published sixth form performance measures are limited and the school does not currently appear in the FindMySchool A-level ranking set. In practice, recent official reporting has indicated that there were no pupils over 16 on roll at the time of inspection, which suggests that post-16 provision may be small or variable by year.
The school’s own published FAQs describe pupils taking A-levels in modern foreign languages. For families considering sixth form, it is worth asking:
Which A-level subjects are offered in the current year, and how many students are in each subject group.
Whether teaching is delivered in-house or via partnerships.
What typical progression routes look like, including university, further education, or vocational pathways, noting that published destination percentages are not currently available in the standard datasets used for comparisons.
Admissions are managed directly by the school. The published process is staged, beginning with an application, followed by a tour and a booked test, and then references from the current school where requested.
Boarding applicants should expect an additional suitability step, which may be an interview or a trial. The Admission Policy also references a CAT4 test and a reference from the previous school as part of the process, with ranking by ability as one element of decision making.
A practical constraint is clearly stated: Year 11 entry is not generally accepted, with only exceptional discretion. For families relocating mid-course, that single point can be decisive.
The school also states that places are offered on a first-come, first-served basis within each year group, so early engagement matters. Families using the FindMySchool Saved Schools feature often find it helpful to track open day attendance, application steps, and document deadlines across several options, particularly when looking at boarding alongside day routes.
Pastoral care is a major pillar, largely because of the school’s scale and its boarding model. The intended benefit is close adult knowledge of pupils, consistent routines, and day-to-evening continuity for boarders. That can suit boys who benefit from predictable boundaries and steady relationships.
Safeguarding is reported as secure, with clear procedures and regular training referenced across the school’s own policy framework and recent external evaluation. Beyond formal safeguarding, the school’s safety messaging emphasises supervised spaces, structured handover arrangements, and controlled access during the school day.
The extracurricular programme is presented in a way that fits the school’s wider priorities, structured activity, teamwork, and supervised, purposeful leisure. The Activities page names a set of specific offerings, which is helpful for parents because it moves beyond generic lists.
A few examples that stand out:
The Marathon Football League, framed as an in-school competition, which can build routine participation and shared identity.
Weekly swimming, which is a meaningful commitment if it is genuinely weekly, as consistency is what drives confidence and physical progress.
Paintball and trampolining, both of which lean into teamwork, confidence, and controlled risk, typically popular with boys who enjoy physical challenge.
Istanbul trips, which align with the school’s cultural and Islamic studies framing and provide a clear thematic link between classroom learning and broader experience.
Social activities such as table tennis and pinball, which matter in boarding contexts because evening life needs a steady rhythm of options.
The school also references UK trips and wider Europe travel as part of its offer. As with any school, parents should confirm the current calendar and cost expectations, especially since the school indicates that pupils contribute to trip costs.
Boarding is not an add-on here. It is central to the model, with the school describing a structured routine, supervised study, and Islamic cultural and religious enrichment as key features of boarding life.
Two-site arrangements are part of the practical picture, with boarding referenced across both Lewisham and Hackney locations, and a named Head of Boarding, Fatih Akcay, in the school’s contact information.
The October 2024 Ofsted progress monitoring inspection reported that the school met the national minimum standards for boarding that were checked during that inspection.
The school’s published 2025 to 2026 academic calendar includes regular home leave points and residential periods, which is a useful indicator of how the year is structured for boarders. For families, the key questions are practical: how weekends work in reality, how supervised study is organised, how pastoral oversight operates across the two sites, and what the expectations are around travel at home leave.
Marathon Science School does not publish a clear, itemised 2025 to 2026 fee schedule on its main website pages that can be reliably quoted as a definitive tariff.
The most recent official inspection paperwork (February 2025) lists annual fees as from £4,500 for day pupils, and up to £12,000 for boarders. The school also states that pupil placements are supported through Seven Hills Educational Trust fundraising and that discounts may be available for siblings and single families.
Parents should confirm:
The precise 2025 to 2026 day fee and boarding fee for the relevant year group
What is included, particularly meals, learning materials, and boarding-related costs
What financial assistance process exists at registration, as referenced in the Admission Policy
Fees data coming soon.
For day families, transport links are a meaningful advantage. The school highlights proximity to Surrey Quays Overground and local bus routes, which should make daily commuting workable for families across Lewisham and neighbouring boroughs.
Boarding patterns are signposted through the published academic calendar, including planned home leave points across the year. The school’s published pages do not set out standard school day start and finish times in a single, easily verifiable place, so parents should confirm daily timings for day pupils, evening routines for boarders, and expectations for supervised prep.
Curriculum breadth is still a live issue. The school has been strengthening its offer, but subject breadth and consistency of teaching remain an area families should probe, especially if your child needs a wide GCSE menu or strong EBacc coverage.
Small scale can help, and it can constrain. Close oversight is often easier in small schools; sustaining specialist teaching across many subjects can be harder, so ask who teaches what, and how exam preparation is staffed.
Boarding is a full lifestyle choice. Two-site boarding arrangements and a structured home leave pattern can suit some boys very well; it can also add complexity for travel and family contact.
Leadership structure is unusual. With co-headteacher arrangements described in official documentation, it is sensible to understand decision making, accountability, and who your main point of contact will be.
Marathon Science School is a niche option: small, boys-only, explicitly shaped by an Islamic ethos, and built around a boarding-informed model of structure and close supervision. The strongest case for the school is for families who want a tightly organised environment, strong conduct expectations, and a community where boarding routines support academic focus and personal development.
Who it suits: boys who respond well to clear boundaries, predictable routines, and close adult oversight, and families aligned with the school’s ethos and boarding culture. The key decision point is whether the school’s current curriculum breadth and measured GCSE outcomes match your child’s academic goals, particularly if an EBacc-heavy route is important.
The picture is mixed. The most recent inspection outcome available is Requires Improvement overall, with Good grades for behaviour and personal development and effective safeguarding. The school is small and has been on an improvement trajectory, but families should look closely at curriculum breadth and recent GCSE outcomes to judge fit for their child.
A clear, itemised 2025 to 2026 fee schedule is not published in an easily verifiable format on the main school pages. The February 2025 inspection paperwork lists annual fees as from £4,500 for day pupils and up to £12,000 for boarders, and families should confirm the current tariff and what is included directly with the school.
Applications are made directly to the school. The process described includes an application form, a tour, a booked test, and references from the current school where requested. Boarding applicants may also have an interview or boarding trial, and the Admission Policy references CAT4 testing. Places are described as being offered in application order within year groups, so early application is encouraged.
Usually not. The Admission Policy states the school does not accept pupils in Year 11 because it is a late stage, with discretion only in exceptional circumstances.
Boarding is presented as a structured routine with supervised study, recreational activities, and Islamic cultural enrichment, alongside halal meal provision. The school has referenced boarding across two sites, and the published academic calendar indicates regular home leave points and residential periods during 2025 to 2026.
Get in touch with the school directly
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