The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School: admissions history
How many families applied, how many places there were, and how far the last place went - every year we hold.
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.
First-choice demand has fallen from 310 in 2021 to 244 in 2026, while places went from 122 to 123.
85% of applications came from families living in another council area.
Across Kensington and Chelsea, 67% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 93% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Kensington and Chelsea lodged 26 appeals against secondary school offers; 22 reached a hearing and 2 succeeded (9.1% of those heard).
Applications and offers by year
| Entry year | Places offered | First choices | Named at all | First choices per place | First choices not offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 123 | 244 | 662 | 2.0 | 153 |
| 2025 | 124 | 253 | 733 | 2.0 | 151 |
| 2024 | 122 | 218 | 657 | 1.8 | 122 |
| 2023 | 123 | 238 | 716 | 1.9 | 145 |
| 2022 | 121 | 297 | 767 | 2.5 | 197 |
| 2021 | 122 | 310 | 865 | 2.5 | 216 |
| 2020 | 122 | 353 | 939 | 2.9 | 259 |
| 2019 | 119 | 343 | 961 | 2.9 | 251 |
| 2018 | 118 | 381 | 1015 | 3.2 | 285 |
| 2017 | 119 | 379 | 943 | 3.2 | 280 |
| 2016 | 115 | 357 | 874 | 3.1 | 262 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school-level file). "Places offered" is the number of offers made on national offer day, which can differ from the school's published admission number.