The school has grown since the end of its selection policy from 700 pupils to over 1000, and was set to grow even more beginning in 2016 (30 additional places).

[citation needed] In 1991, following discussion and a vote by parents, John Fisher was incorporated as a Grant Maintained School and operated a selection policy.

Also, a small number of young men were selected on the basis of musical ability or for sporting promise.

GM Catholic schools[clarification needed] that examined candidates and interviewed potential pupils and their parents were often controversial.

However, after a number of parents complained about what they considered to be the blasphemous and age inappropriate sexual content of some of the author's published work, the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark instructed the school to withdraw the invitation and subsequently removed the foundation governors after the Governing Board had narrowly voted in favour of the visit continuing.

[6] Concerns over the governance in this matter triggered a snap Ofsted inspection, which reported that the archdiocese had acted unilaterally and without regard to statutory guidance.

Ofsted said that as a priority, "immediate steps must be taken to restore stability to governance, and in turn ensure that leadership is provided".

The inspectors overlooked the fact that at the time of their inspection the Archdiocese had already appointed seven new Foundation Governors to replace those who had either been removed or resigned.

A smaller number of boys were selected for academic, musical and sports aptitude, in conjunction with an interview.

[10] The school's U15s reached the final of The Daily Mail Cup in the 2000/2001 season, losing to Epsom College.