Following the outbreak of the Second World War, that property was requisitioned by the government, initially with the intention of being used as a hospital, but in the event being purchased in 1941 by the BBC as a base for its Monitoring Service.

[8] The Oratory is one of four schools in the United Kingdom with a real tennis court (others being Radley, Canford, and Wellington College), and plays the sport, hosting championships and international tournaments.

The Oratory School hosted the Ladies Real Tennis World Championship in 2023, in an event won by Claire Fahey.

[citation needed] In February 2013, it was discovered that Jonathan O'Brien, a former teacher, had been involved in sexually abusing boys aged ten to sixteen while working at The Oratory in the 1980s.

[11] In February 2014, there were allegations that older pupils had been beating younger students and killing animals outside school - including the skinning of a cat.