Cardinal Manning had the vision to expand Catholic education in London but distrusted the
Jesuits, who had already successfully established schools in Northern England. He acquired a plot of land in North Kensington for St Charles College for Boys, a boarding which had been founded by the Oblates of St
Charles Borromeo (see
Ambrosians) in 1863, and it relocated there in 1874. The college was intended to prepare young men for the priesthood. The short-lived Kensington University College, also founded by Manning, was merged into the school as its "higher department". It closed in 1905 after 42 years in operation. Inspired by Charles Borromeo, Manning named the local parish St Charles, which covers present-day St Charles Square. The old buildings were taken over by the
Sisters of the Sacred Heart who opened St Charles Teacher Training College and St Charles
Demonstration School. The training college was evacuated to Dorchester following the outbreak of
World War II. The college buildings had been so badly damaged during
the Blitz that the Sisters decided to move on to
Roehampton where they were already running
Digby Stuart College. The
Archdiocese of Westminster took over the buildings in 1946 for redevelopment. St Charles Primary opened in 1954, followed by
secondary moderns Cardinal Manning Boys School in 1955 and Cardinal Manning Girls School in 1958. During the 1960s, Cardinal Manning Girls merged with a convent school founded by the
Sisters of Sion at Chepstow Villas,
Bayswater to form the present-day Sion-Manning School. Following a reorganisation of the Catholic education system within the archdiocese in 1990, Cardinal Manning Boys became
St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College but remained on its site. In September 2018, the school open as All Saints Catholic College with a new year 7 group of 150 students. In July 2025, The Headteacher, Andrew O'Neill, was invited to be the advisor to the Department of Education for one year, and therefore,
Paul Walton became the Headteacher. ==Notable former pupils==