The Cardinal Wiseman School


The Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, commonly known as The Cardinal Wiseman School, is a Catholic school comprising a comprehensive secondary school and The Cardinal Wiseman School Sixth Form located in Greenford, London, England. Its headteacher is Michael Kiely and its student body consists of 11- to 18-year-olds.

History

It is named after the Catholic Cardinal Wiseman, a Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster in 1850. It was originally opened in 1959, but has been reorganised several times since, including an amalgamation with the Cardinal Newman School in 1986.
It is located on Greenford Road in Greenford, near Greenford Broadway; there are many buses that stop close to it, including the E1, E2, E3, E5, E6, E7, E9, E10, E11, 92, 95, 105 and 282. It is next to, and is often twinned with Our Lady of The Visitation Roman Catholic Primary School, and the Our Lady of the Visitation Church.

Uniform

Years 7 to 11

The students wear a uniform, consisting of a royal blue blazer, navy and white tie, white shirt, grey skirt and charcoal trousers for boys. However, from April 2007, ties were not required to be worn during the summer term. However, this was just a trial, and ties are now compulsory for all students all year. During the summer terms, girls can choose to wear summer blouses which they do not have to wear a tie with.

Sixth Form

The uniform for the Sixth Form differs to the lower school. Students are required to wear a black tie with the school crest over a plain white shirt with black trousers or skirts. A blazer is available although most students prefer their own choice of plain black jumpers.

Notable former pupils

Popular band The Magic Numbers attended Cardinal Wiseman, as well as Jason Roberts, former Premier League striker for Blackburn Rovers and Reading. Also professional Football Player Aaron Pierre, who plays defender for Wycombe Wanderers as did Ruben Loftus-Cheek, a midfielder who plays for London-based club Chelsea
Tommy Street, local entrepreneur, Property Expert and club night owner also attended Cardinal Wiseman.
Power metal band DragonForce's keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov attended Cardinal Wiseman.
Young actors James Forde, who plays Liam Butcher in the soap EastEnders, and Joe Prospero, who featured in Finding Neverland, My Dad's the Prime Minister and the Bill, attended the school.
Comedian Javone Prince, famous for starring as Jerwayne in PhoneShop, also attended the school.
An article in The Independent in November 2014 highlighted the famous alumni produced by Cardinal Wiseman during a difficult time for the school, following a stabbing.

Arts Festival

Every year, the Music and Drama departments at Cardinal Wiseman organise a two night event at which numerous musicians and dancers come together to showcase the wealth of talent within the school community. This will normally take place on the Wednesday and Thursday of the first week of November, with auditions for acts occurring in mid September.
Monetary prizes are awarded for the best musicians and dancers in upper and lower school and one for the overall best performance. These are decided on the second night by a panel of judges that usually contains various professionals and ex-pupils, and also on occasion, famous celebrities also attend the show as judges.