Full-Time Furniture Making Course

The one year (38 week) programme will transform into a Fine Furniture Designer Maker, regardless of the skill level you start with.

Book a Visit
Get Prospectus

Ours is one of the few courses that leads to three Diplomas awarded by the City & Guilds. Each practical project is increasingly demanding, developing your skill, understanding and confidence.

A woodworking workspace with a large workbench, woodworking tools, and a piece of wood cutting board, illuminated by sunlight through a window.

Overview

The full-time programme starts each September, January and April for small groups of up to 8 students. Learn to understand hand tools, wood, as well as traditional techniques for designing and making fine furniture.

Throughout the year, you will make several pieces, with each project becoming increasingly demanding. You will develop skill, understanding and confidence. We assume you’ll have little or no knowledge of fine furniture making so we start with basic hand tool techniques and exercises.

If you’re thinking of joining us please book a visit or apply online.

Book a Visit

Practical Workshop Projects

Each project has been designed to introduce you to different and ever more complex skills and techniques. All projects are assessed; students are encouraged to critique their own work.

The design and making of your own furniture is encouraged and the final student piece of work has been allocated minimum time of 10 weeks. During the year the following projects are made:

  • Tool Skill Exercises

  • Games Board

  • Dovetail Box

  • Shaker Table

  • Shop Stool

  • Machine Dining Chair

  • Cabinet Making Bench

  • Krenov Cabinet

  • Student’s Own Furniture Project

We Combine Traditional Techniques with Modern Methods

Your first term is dedicated to mastering hand tools – the traditional foundation of furniture making – before you progress to machinery and power tools, including Festool systems and dominos, in our fully equipped workshop with dimension saw, dedicated rip saw, planer, thicknesser, bandsaws, lathe, router tables and spindle moulder. This combination of traditional hand skill and modern method means you leave able to choose the right technique for the piece in front of you.

Student Projects

Oak Dining Table with Laminated Semi Circle Legs
Media Unit Furniture Craft School Woodworking Courses
Backgammon Board Fine Furniture School Kent England
Empty wooden cabinet with open shelves and a drawer, showing a black handle on the left door.
Person working on a wood marquetry art piece on a wooden table.

Theory of Furniture Making

Each week a session is taught in the classroom. These lessons are valuable in that they allow the opportunity to study in more depth aspects of furniture making that are not covered by practical activities in the workshop. Students and tutors alike welcome the opportunity to share experiences of furniture making.

Classroom Topics

  • Hand Tools

  • Timber Technology

  • Furniture Making Techniques

  • Design & Sustainability

  • Health & Safety

  • Wood Finishing

  • Professional Practice

Machine Woodworking

  • Sawing Machines

  • Planing Machines

  • Jointing Machines

  • Profile Machines

  • Sanding Machines

  • Powered Hand Tools

Certifications

The full-time course leads to three professionally recognised Diplomas – two Level 2 Diplomas in Furniture Making and Machine Woodworking and a Level 3 Diploma in Furniture Making and Design. All three awards are validated by the City & Guilds of London.

Meet Your Tutors

  • A smiling man in a woodworking shop wearing a beige apron, leaning on a workbench with woodworking tools and pieces of wood.

    Peter Quin

    Founder & Principal
    Master Furnituremaker, The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers

  • A man working in a woodworking shop with wooden planks and tools, standing and using a handsaw.

    Andrew Lapthorn

    Designer-Maker, Fellow of the Society of Designer Craftsmen & Owner of Lapthorn Furniture

  • A man with glasses and a beard smiling, holding a pink pencil near his temple, standing in front of architectural drawings on a wall.

    Mark Thomas

    Bespoke Guild Mark holder and Multiple Award Nominated Designer-Maker. Owner of MakerMark

  • A man with glasses and a beard, wearing a dark jacket, leaning against a wooden wall and smiling

    Paul Iaquaniello

    Designer-Maker & Owner of Kent Furniture Design

Educational visits

We arrange educational visits throughout the year. We add to this number if a relevant event or exhibition occurs.

These visits aim to broaden understanding. They bring to live subjects taught in the classroom, thus creating a wider context for the furniture maker and designer.

The following visits have been provisionally arranged for the coming year – click the ‘+’ to expand each section and see the planned visits.

  • Hamish Low

    Furniture Maker and Bog Oak Timber Merchant

    Wood Fair

    Local fair that promote the use of wood and allied trades.

    Rochester

    Black oak table

    Andrew Lapthorne

    Hutchfield Furniture

    Seaton historical Tool Chest

    Hampshire

    Barnsley Workshop

    English Woodland Hardwood

  • London Museums

    V&A

    Design Museum

    Lord Leighton House

    Others

    William Morris House

    Exhibitions TBC

  • Suppliers

    Timberline

    Axminster Tools

    Crispin Veneers

    W24

    International Machine Woodworking and Wood Trade Fair

    NEC Birmingham

    Workshop Renting Spaces

    Hones Workshop

    Clunie Fretton Workshop

A group of five people inside a museum, observing and discussing artifacts displayed in a glass case on a dark carpeted floor, with informational posters on the walls.
People inside a historic church or cathedral viewing memorial plaques and inscriptions on the wall.

Term Dates

Autumn Term: 7 September – 18 December 2026 (14 weeks)

Spring Term: 4 January – 25 March 2027 (12 weeks)

Summer Term: 12 April – 16 July 2027 (12 weeks)

Students normally begin the programme in September, January or April. However, other start dates are available.

We teach in small groups. A maximum of 8 students per cohort.

Tuition fee

Full-time course tuition fees for 2027 £16,000.

There will be additional costs of around £2,200:

  • City & Guilds exam fees and certificates £469

  • Tools to be purchased by the student at their own expense, ~£800

  • Materials for practical projects £1200

  • Consumables box £150

All materials for Tool and Machine exercises are provided by the school. Students are welcome to purchase their own wood for school projects; otherwise it will be provided by the school.

Funding & Bursary

Students are normally self-funded. There are a number of charities who offer educational and training awards.

The School offers a bursary of up to £3,000 for students who could not otherwise afford the course fees. This bursary is awarded by the Principal and at his discretion.

Women & Gender-diverse Students

Women and gender-diverse makers are warmly encouraged to apply. Woodworking remains a male-dominated craft, and we'd like to see that change. If you would love to train but the fees or anything else feels out of reach, please get in touch. We will do our best to help.

Book a Visit
Download Prospectus
A woman working on a woodworking project at a table in a workshop with large windows

Get in touch.

We’d love to hear from you, where you are in your life at the moment and what is drawing you to furniture-making.

Being a small school, our tutors are always teaching. If you’re thinking of applying for our full-time course, we can arrange a school tour with our Principal Peter.

Please check your spam as we always respond, even if it takes us a little while – we don’t have office staff!