The London Oratory School, also known as "The Oratory" or "The London Oratory" to distinguish it from other schools, is a Catholic secondary school for boys aged 7–18 and girls aged 16–18 in West Brompton. Founded in 1863 by The Fathers of The London Oratory in Chelsea, London, it is historically linked to two fellow Oratorian institutions: the nearby Brompton Oratory and The Oratory School in Berkshire. The school is known for the quality of its choral and instrumental music and is one of England's oldest Catholic schools. Overview The London Oratory School admits 160 boys to the first form, as well as twenty boys who join the senior school from the Junior House. The School educates boys aged 7–16 and boys and girls aged 16–18 in the sixth form. There are around 1,350 pupils including about 350 in the sixth form. The School shares its religious and cultural identity with the Congregation of the Oratory who founded the School and are its trustees. The school's formal links with the Brompton Oratory go back to the foundation of the school by The Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (London) and continue as the Fathers of this Congregation are the trustees of the School. The London Oratory School and The Brompton Oratory continue their close working relationship which includes the Oratory Fathers supplying chaplaincy to the School and the School supplying the Schola choir for the parish. The school is notable for educating the children of a number of prominent politicians, including the children of the former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, children of Harriet Harman and former deputy Prime Minister, Sir Nick Clegg. History The Fathers of the London Oratory in Brompton, Knightsbridge opened their first school in King William Street in the City of London in 1852 and two parochial schools in Chelsea in 1856. Seven years later, in 1863, at the request of Cardinal Wiseman, who wanted to provide a wider education for Catholic children than was available at that time, the Oratory Fathers established a school for boys in Chelsea, and in 1870 a school for girls staffed by the Daughters of the Cross. These schools were fee paying and they were the forerunners of the present school. Both schools flourished but in the early part of the last century Cardinal Vaughan asked the Oratory Fathers to inaugurate the first Central Schools for Catholic children.