[1] The school is named after Saint Richard Reynolds, a Brigittine monk at Syon Abbey who was executed in 1535 for refusing the Oath of Supremacy to King Henry VIII of England.

[9] The site was temporarily shared until RACC relocated to its other campus in Richmond towards the end of 2014,[10] vacating the Edwardian main building which was refurbished for use by the school in 2015.

[22] The local MP Vincent Cable, and Education Secretary Michael Gove, expressed an opinion that both schools should leave 50% of their places open to the community, in line with admissions rules for new Faith Academies, but that suggestion was not adopted.

[20][24][25] The judgment set a legal precedent for interpretation of the Education Act 2011,[26] and the school's voluntary aided status enabled it to bypass rules applying to new Faith Academies which would have limited the proportion of students admitted using faith selection criteria to 50%.

[33] The site for St Richard Reynolds Catholic College was purchased by Richmond upon Thames Council for £8.45m,[16] and subsequently leased to the schools on a peppercorn rent.

)[41] In February 2015, it was announced that St. Richard Reynolds would receive a contribution to its capital costs from the Priority Schools Building Programme.

[42][43] The schools have also received a substantial donation from the Sir Harold Hood Charitable Trust,[44] which is under the trusteeship of Lord True, who was the leader of Richmond upon Thames Council at the time the school was established, and his wife, Lady True.