Indoors at breaktime: the school in a London office block

Steve Chalke, head of the Oasis Charitable Trust, at the opening of another of its 54 schools. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

Oasis Academy South Bank in Waterloo sits in a densely built-up corner of south London – so densely that the only space found for the school was in a recommissioned office block. There is no playground, no sports pitch, nowhere to play football at break time.

Steve Chalke is the founder of Oasis Charitable Trust, the organisation that runs the school, one of 54 in their charge across England. He admits it is a challenging environment.