After the 1903 death of the third Archbishop of Westminster, Herbert, Cardinal Vaughan, an appeal was made to raise funds to found a boys' school to be named as a memorial to him; some £20,000 was subscribed.

The school was founded in 1914; the founders included Viscount Fitzalan, the Duke of Norfolk and the Marquis of Ripon.

The first Higher Certificates with Distinction were achieved in 1926, the first classical scholarship (at Christ's College, Cambridge), and the first ordination of Vaughan boys to the priesthood.

In 1937, this plot was exchanged for the present site at Twickenham, adjacent to the international Rugby Football Union ground.

However, there were concerns about the low standards of new admissions, whose primary education had suffered during the evacuation; in 1948, Cardinal Griffin referred to this as a "time of crisis" for the school, though it was alleviated through a series of programmes to inspire the students' interest.

In the 1970s, the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) and board of governors considered various reorganization proposals in the amalgamation of schools.

While nominally a state comprehensive, it has resisted attempts by local governmental and religious authority figures to widen the accessibility criteria for potential pupils.

[1] In 2020, a pupil aged 21-22 was allowed in to the school, nominally as a teaching assistant, in order to re-sit A Level exams owing to a donation made by wealthy parents.

Girls who join the school at this time are required to wear the Vaughan maroon blazer and grey skirt.

At various times of the year, including the Vaughan Speech Night, teachers are required to wear full academic dress.

He confessed to having spent the summer months worrying about how many boys would face him on opening day.

Academic standards were high leading to the School and Higher Certificates of the Oxford and Cambridge Joint Board.

While the school was evacuated to Windsor for the course of the Second World War, Vance was concerned about the standards of behaviour of the boys under wartime conditions.

It was made clear to the boys: that making light of discomfort was manly; that writing cheery and interesting letters home would ease the troubles of their families; and that it was a point of honour to never complain.

In 1947, Vance expressed concerns about the low standards of new admissions, whose primary education had suffered terribly during the evacuation.

Under his direction as headmaster, a large programme of activities was established to interest the boys in art, music and literature.

Father Richard Kenefeck served his entire career at the Vaughan School, beginning in 1938, and was its longest-serving headmaster.

Advanced A-Level subjects were introduced to a curriculum which had largely been devoted to the Classics, with mathematics and sciences added in 1956.

Academic standards remained high; The Times ranked Cardinal Vaughan as the highest attaining school at both A-Level and GCSE in the country in 2013 and 2014.

Vaughan boys compete in many competitions across the country and against other schools, and also in annual House Varsity games [citation needed].

Senior Rugby players also play Saturday morning and midweek fixtures during the Lent term.

The school has the use of Barn Elms Boat Club, where boys can learn to row and scull [citation needed].

Pupils may, at their families' cost, study musical instruments, including the piano, the organ (of which the school has three), strings, brass, woodwind and percussion.

The school's Big Band has taken part in national competitions and has toured in France, Spain, Netherlands and the US.

It has performed alongside Salena Jones and Jason Yarde and had commissions from Bob Mintzer, Frank Griffith, Jeff Jarvis and Richard Harris [citation needed].

The Schola Cantorum is the School's liturgical choir, founded in 1980 and made up of boys aged 11 to 18.

It has performed professionally with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Bach Choir and the Chorus of the Royal Opera, and been featured on film soundtracks including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Life of Pi and Paddington.

The Schola Cantorum is currently led by Scott Price, who serves as conductor and director of music at the school.