The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School, London

Ofsted's report card from its 15 April 2026 inspection grades The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School on 7 areas: 4 exceptional and 3 strong standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Exceptional. "Pupils learn the curriculum remarkably well and achieve highly across a very wide range of subjects."

Attendance and behaviour - Exceptional. "Pupils attend school regularly because they are happy here and thrive in the caring environment."

Leadership and governance - Exceptional. "Leadership at all levels is exemplary."

Personal development and wellbeing - Exceptional. "The personal development programme is expertly designed to ensure that pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, develop morally, socially, spiritually and culturally."

Curriculum and teaching - Strong standard. "The curriculum is ambitious, broad and balanced."

Inclusion - Strong standard. "The needs of pupils with special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND) are quickly and accurately identified so that well-matched support is put in place."

Post 16 provision - Strong standard. "The sixth-form curriculum is ambitious and kept under regular review."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should strengthen the consistency with which teachers use available information to adapt learning for identified groups of pupils so that all pupils benefit from precisely matched support"; "Leaders should ensure that teachers check for understanding systematically across subjects so that highly responsive teaching consistently develops pupils' knowledge and skills".

In 2026, pupils at The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 61.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 53.5 in Kensington and Chelsea and 47 across England.

74% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 60% in Kensington and Chelsea and 47% in England.

That is down from 67.2 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 1: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 46.1, against 65.7 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 19.6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 26 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 244 families put The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School as their first choice and 662 named it as one of their preferences, for 123 places offered. That is 2 first choices for every place. 153 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School are Holland Park School (0.5 miles, Attainment 8 58.2); Kensington Aldridge Academy (0.7 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 53.1); Sacred Heart High School (0.9 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 56.2); and Hammersmith Academy (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 54.9).

The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School is one of 10 schools run by Saint John Southworth Catholic Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 124 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 94% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 6% to a further education college and 1% to an apprenticeship.

Of the 196 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 79% went on to university or other higher education, 1% to apprenticeships and 10% into work. 58% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

15.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 46.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (27%), Mixed (15%) and Black (14%).

The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School had 117 teachers in 2026, one for every 9 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest railway station is Shepherds Bush Rail Station, about 440 metres away (roughly a 5-minute walk).

11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Norland Square, 210 metres away.

In 2024/25, The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School issued 31 suspensions, 3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School are St Clement and St James CofE Primary School (0.4 miles), St Mary's Catholic Primary School (0.4 miles), Addison Primary School (0.4 miles) and Avondale Park Primary School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.