 Bourne had noticed that the new Watling housing estate had been built in north London by the London County Council intended to provide better quality housing for people then living in Islington and other parts of inner London - many of which lived in poor and sub-standard accommodation.Thus there was an opportunity to provide Catholic secondary education for the families of the Catholic parishes of north-west London.When it was set up, St James was the only mixed non-selective Catholic school in London.