The Religious of Jesus and Mary, who originated in France, were invited by Cardinal Manning to open a convent school in Willesden. The school's foundation stone was laid in 1888 and the Convent of Jesus and Mary opened as a private boarding school for girls, although boarding was scrapped at the outbreak of World War II. It was the first of three convent schools established by the Sisters in the present-day borough; the second convent school is now the local parish infant school. During the era of the tripartite system, the convent was unique as it operated as a bilateral school offering both grammar and secondary modern streams. During the 1950s-60s, the school went through a period of major redevelopment. In 1952, as with many Catholic schools across the country, it joined the state sector as a voluntary aided school and maintained this status until April 2012 when the school converted to an academy. A number of Catholic schools nearby were reorganised into primary/junior and infant schools and their senior pupils were all transferred to the Convent. The main Convent itself was split in two as younger pupils were transferred to the second convent school. It became a comprehensive in 1966 with the abolition of the tripartite system in the borough. Today the school continues to serve the Catholic community in the borough and welcomes girls of all faiths or none. The school is a diverse community with around three-quarters of the students coming from minority ethnic groups. Roughly a third of students are of heritage or other Black backgrounds.
Achievements
In recent times the school has been awarded accolades such as the International School Award in 2008. In 2009, the school was rated "outstanding" in both the Ofsted and Diocesan inspection reports. In 2000, long-serving head teacher Mary Richardson, BA, PGCE, who had retired the previous year, was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her outstanding work at the school. When Richardson arrived at the school in 1985 only 8% of pupils left with more than 5A*-C GCSEs; this rose to 61% on her retirement in 1999. She was succeeded by Ms Hartigan, who was replaced by Mrs Freear. The current head is Mrs Louise McGowan.
Academic results
examinations in 1997, 1998, and 1999 were ranked well above average compared with all schools and for 1999 very high compared to similar schools. In 1997 and 1998 they were ranked average compared to all schools and below average in 1999. In 1999 61% of pupils gained 5A*-C. However the proportion of students attaining grades A-C was below the national average. In 2008 60% of pupils achieved at least one A*-C in a modern foreign language. In 2009 76% of pupils achieved 5A*-C. 63% of pupils received a GCSE before being in year 11 and 63% of A levels pupils received A-C and 95.4% A-E.
