Senior School news

Pupils Enjoy a Week of Workshops with Leach Pottery

23 September 2021

A small group of lucky Norwich School pupils recently enjoyed a week of pottery workshops with Leach Pottery in Cornwall.

The workshops were part of the winning prize from Leach Pottery’s School’s Design Challenge, which Norwich School won with L4’s bubble-inspired pottery plates.

Pupils got to learn about a range of pottery techniques, including using the kick wheels in Leach’s original workshop, as well as making field costrels and slab work bottles.

Art and Design teacher Mrs Slade says:

“Taking part in a whole week of workshops at the Leach Pottery in St Ives has been an amazing experience for our Year 11 pupils and I know they will utilise their acquired skills in their GCSE work and beyond. We all thoroughly enjoyed spending time at the internationally cherished and unique working pottery, where the staff made us feel very welcome. It has also been a great opportunity to make stronger connections with the pupils. They have ‘thrown’ themselves into every aspect of the trip and there has been lots of laughter and fun! Finishing off the week with a live Cornish band at the Minack Theatre was a fitting end to a wonderful trip!”

Pupils were asked what the highlight of their trip was and you can read some of their answers below:

“I most enjoyed how timeless the Leach Pottery is, the methods and tools used for many years remain almost the same today. In a world where technology dominates jobs it was comforting to see and do something manual and enjoy the rewarding satisfaction of what can be created using your hands and clay. At first it felt like a novel experience. I have learned how to use the kick wheel and gain a for more in-depth understanding about working with clay by the end of the week.” – Sophie Bush (U5)

“I most enjoyed the throwing. I loved the uncertainty of how the pot would turn out and the feeling of pure joy when you are proud of what you created! It is amazing after two days I have come away with a bowl I am proud of. The highlight of the trip for me was arriving at the pottery every morning and seeing the kind staff, ready to start the day in a calming and therapeutic way.” – Trixie Ellerby (U5)

“My favourite part of the workshops was how relaxed the whole thing seemed despite the quick pace of some of the workshops. I have learnt new skills in throwing pots and multiply techniques for hand building pots. Another highlight of the trip for me was seeing Cornwall, all the places we went to looked amazing and did not look like the Norfolk ones I am used to seeing.” – Aidan Pitcher (U5)

“I really enjoyed throwing. It was fun to learn a new skill and create something at the end of it. Using a kick wheel was fun to learn. For me the highlight of the trip was getting to learn about the history of the Leach Pottery. I found it very fascinating to look at all the old pots. I loved how the pottery was an open space and the history of it wasn’t kept behind ropes, so we could really get a feel for what it would have been like working there” – Amelie Duez (U5)

 

finished handbuilt pots.JPG
handbuilding workshop with Tim.JPG
Hand building with Shanon.JPG