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.
The original Cardinal Wiseman School was opened in 1959 as a special agreement school catering for 456 boys and girls aged 11–15 years. Since then the school has been reorganised several times.
In 1974, The London Borough of Ealing established a comprehensive school system with the age of transfer being 12+ years.
In 1986, The Cardinal Wiseman School amalgamated with the Cardinal Newman School and gained Voluntary Aided status.
In 1995, the DfEE inaugurated Cardinal Wiseman School as a 'Technology and Art College' following the successful application from the school. This has attracted considerable extra funding that is not normally available.
In 1998, The Cardinal Wiseman School applied to have the status extended for a second term. Following an inspection visit by the DfEE Technology Colleges Unit to see if our earlier targets had been achieved, the School was granted a second term without any conditions being imposed. A third term of Technology status has since been awarded and in 2006 the school was awarded a second specialist status in the area of Humanities.Once again, considerable funding has been attracted to the school.
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.
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.
