Oasis Academy South Bank

Oasis Academy South Bank
Address
75 Westminster Bridge Road London , SE1 7HS England
Coordinates	51°29′55″N0°06′42″W / 51.4985°N 0.1118°W / 51.4985; -0.1118
Information
Type	Free school
Established	September 2013 (2013-09)
Local authority	Lambeth Council
Trust	Oasis Community Learning
Department for Education URN	139659 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Anna Richardson
Gender	Mixed
Age range	11–18
Enrolment	699 ( February 2021) [1]
Capacity	720
Website	www.oasisacademysouthbank.org

Oasis Academy South Bank is a free school in Lambeth, London, England. It is coeducational secondary school with sixth-form that was opened and run by the Oasis Community Learning. It opened to pupils in September 2013. It was fully operating on its site in September 2016. It was rated 'Outstanding' in its first Ofsted inspection.

Description

Oasis Academy South Bank is part of the Oasis Community Learning group, and evangelical Christian charity. ^[2] The trust has guided forty schools out of special measures. 19 per cent of the 52 Oasis academies classified as failing. ^[3]

Oasis Academy South Bank is Oasis Community Learning group flagship free school, situated next to the Waterloo Hub. The building was converted into three phases from an office block by Gleeds. ^[4] It was completed in May 2016. The Ofsted Report of June 2015 validated Oasis opinion of how a school should operate, and rated it to be 'Outstanding'. ^[5]

Oasis has a long-term strategy for enhancing the performance of its schools. Firstly, it has devised a standard curriculum that each school can safely adopt knowing it will deliver the National Curriculum. Secondly, it has invested in staff training, so they are focused on improving the outcomes for the students, and thirdly, through its Horizons scheme it is providing each member of staff and student with a tablet. ^[6]

Academics

The school operates an extended school day with compulsory enrichment activities. The extended day gives the pupils more time to learn and prepares them for a future in employment. All this is supported by parents who sign a Home Academy Agreement where it is laid out. ^{[5] : 4} The academic focus is explained to the students in the acronym STAIRS- scholarship, transformation, aspiration, inclusion, resilience and social responsibility. ^{[5] : 1  [7]}

Curriculum intent

A Knowledge rich curriculum. This was one of 11 schools involved in a funded government pilot scheme to write a full curriculum that interpreted the National Curriculum for England to produce the best outcomes for their students. ^[8] The results can be seen on the school website.

Virtually all maintained schools and academies follow the National Curriculum, and there success is judged on how well they succeed in delivering a 'broad and balanced curriculum'. ^[9] South Bank endeavour to get 95% students to achieve the English Baccalaureate qualification- this must include core subjects a modern or ancient foreign language, and either History or Geography.

The academy operates a three-year, Key Stage 3 where all the core National Curriculum subjects are taught. This is a transition period from primary to secondary education, that builds on the skills, knowledge and understanding gained at primary school, and introduces youngsters who are starting from a lower than average base to wider, robust and challenging programmes of study needed to gain qualifications at Key Stage 4.

At Key Stage 4 the focus is on the English Baccalaureate, and there are daily Maths, English and Science lessons- plus some options. Spanish and French are the taught modern languages. ^[10]

In Key Stage 5 Students are expected to study for three A levels and 5 hrs private study on the school site, or do four A levels. ^[11]

Location

Oasis Community Learning, Oasis Academy Joanna and the Oasis Waterloo Hub were all based on Westminster Bridge Road in Lambeth over the road from Southwark. The first intention was to buy 6 Hercules Road: they had planning permission but were outbid. The second scheme was to convert 75 Westminster Bridge Road. ^[12]

References

1. "Oasis Academy South Bank - GOV.UK". www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
2. "Oasis Community Learning, registered charity no. 1109288". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
3. "Oasis leader on his vision for country's first secure school". Schools Week. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
4. "Oasis Academy South Bank | Gleeds". www.gleeds.com. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
5. "Ofsted Section 5 report 2015" (PDF). ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
6. "Oasis Horizons -". www.oasisacademysouthbank.org. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
7. "Home Academy Agreement" (PDF). www.oasisacademysouthbank.org. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
8. Allen-Kinross, Pippa (4 May 2019). "Academies prepare to sell curriculum after £2.4m pilot". Schools Week. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
9. Roberts, Nerys. "The school curriculum in England Parliamentary Briefing Paper" (PDF). parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
10. "The Oasis South Bank Curriculum – Our Statement of Intent -". www.oasisacademysouthbank.org. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
11. "Courses We Offer -". www.oasisacademysouthbank.org. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
12. "Planning Permission" (PDF). moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2021.