The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School
89 Addison Road, London, W14 8BZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- SAINT JOHN SOUTHWORTH CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headmaster
- Mr Aaron Cosgrove
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Westminster
- Constituency
- Kensington and Bayswater
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 922
- Pupils on roll
- 1,034
- URN
- 141931
- Local authority
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02076038478
About this school
The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School is a Roman Catholic boys' secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,034 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Exceptional
- Attendance and behaviour
- Exceptional
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Exceptional
- Leadership and governance
- Exceptional
- Post-16 provision
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 126 | 124 | 126 |
| Attainment 8 score | 65.2 | 67.4 | 67.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.86 +0.61 to +1.11 | +1.00 +0.75 to +1.25 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 76% | 85.5% | 80.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 90% | 96.8% | 94.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 45% | 28.2% | 31% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kensington and Chelsea average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 65.2 | 34.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 67.4 | 32 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 67.2 | 35.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,033 |
| 2023/24 | 1,022 |
| 2024/25 | 1,024 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School compares
The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School ranked 1st of 6 secondary schools in Kensington and Chelsea for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 97% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67.2 | 5.3% | 18% | 1,034 | — |
| Holland Park School | 59.4 | 7.9% | 32.7% | 1,376 | 0.5 miles |
| Kensington Aldridge Academy | 54 | 8.7% | 58.2% | 1,271 | 0.7 miles |
| Sacred Heart High School | 60.9 | 6.8% | 19.7% | 1,113 | 0.9 miles |
| Hammersmith Academy | 52 | 7.9% | 48.6% | 954 | 1.0 miles |
| All Saints Catholic College | 51.3 | 9.6% | 41.8% | 898 | 1.1 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report15 April 2026
- 16 November 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 18.01%
- English as an additional language
- 44.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.3%
- Persistent absence
- 11.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holland Park School0.5 miles
Secondary · London
-
Kensington Aldridge Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · London
-
Sacred Heart High School0.9 miles
Secondary · London
-
Hammersmith Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · London
-
All Saints Catholic College1.1 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School ranks 7th of the 258 ranked secondary schools in London.
- Acland Burghley School Secondary
- Ada Lovelace Church of England High School Secondary
- Addey and Stanhope School Secondary
- AIM Academy North London Secondary
- Alexandra Park School Secondary
- All Saints Catholic College Secondary
- All Saints Catholic High School Secondary
- Ark Acton Academy Secondary
- Ark All Saints Academy Secondary
- Ark Bolingbroke Academy Secondary
- Ark Burlington Danes Academy Secondary
- Ark Elvin Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School teach?
- The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headmaster of The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School?
- The headmaster of The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School is Mr Aaron Cosgrove, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School?
- The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School has 1,034 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School full?
- The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School has capacity for 922 pupils and 1,034 on roll (112%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School a faith school?
- Yes. The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Westminster.
- Is The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School a selective school?
- No. The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School?
- The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School is part of SAINT JOHN SOUTHWORTH CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 65.2 in 2022/23 and 67.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School rank locally?
- The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School ranked 1st of 6 secondary schools in Kensington and Chelsea for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 97% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School's absence rate?
- The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 15 July 2026.