Fully Hands-on, Practical Learning sessions for schools & Colleges
Years ago, Schools and colleges HAD extensive metalworking facilities and taught a wide range of metalworking skills to their students. These days, access and experience in this area is declining and it is not uncommon for young people to have left school with little or no insight into working with metal and how it fits in our modern world.
With our extensive facilities and expert knowledge, we can offer educational sessions working with red-hot iron through practical, immersive & inspiring learning experiences. Students are provided with their own working area, each with their own forge, anvil, leg-vice and variety of hand-tooling. They will be taught how to manage their own fire, key forging techniques and be challenged to explore the properties of red-hot iron! All while each making a practical item that they can take home and Cherish forever. Sessions are limited to a maximum of 14 students at a time, with a Minimum age of 11 years old*.
Educational Blacksmithing Demonstrations for Schools & Colleges
Where fully hands-on practical sessions may not be suitable OR DESIRED, we can provide visually stimulating AND educational forging demonstrations for large school groups. We have a demonstration arena with tiered seatING for UP TO 70 people. Demonstrations can be tailored to suit, in terms of duration and learning content. We would typically have one or two blacksmiths at a forge, exploring the properties of red hot iron, and demonstrating the 7 processes found in the craft of Blacksmithing.
*We are now fully Insured to teach children from the age of 5 years old. Please contact us to find out more.
ALL our staff have a valid extended DBS check.
Schools we currently work with:
St John’s School
36 students from the Design & Engineering department at St John’s School in Leatherhead, Surrey, attended a 2.5hr educational blacksmithing demonstration with us in December 2025. They also had a tour of our workshops and our Fire & Iron Gallery.
Downsend School
“It is a real pleasure working with such committed local businesses and we look forward to many years of association with you.” Ian Thorpe - Executive Head
“Thank you! Our students absolutely loved it yesterday. It was an incredible, stress free, fun and informative day for both the students, and staff.” - Maggie Hambledon - Head of DT
Eighteen of Downsend’s Year 10 Design Technology students embarked on a fun and informative hands-on blacksmithing session with us in early 2025.
Reed’s School
Reed's is a leading independent day and boarding school in Cobham, Surrey, for boys aged 11 to 18 with a co-educational Sixth Form.
“On Tuesday, the Product Design Department took a group of Fourth Form and Lower Sixth students to the Quinnell School of Blacksmithing at Rowhurst Forge for a day of practical metalworking. Located on the outskirts of Leatherhead, this family run forge provided an authentic and inspiring environment in which our students were given the opportunity to explore traditional craft skills.
Following an introduction to the history and heritage of blacksmithing and a comprehensive safety briefing, students were shown how to use a coke forge to heat steel to a bright orange glow before shaping it on an anvil. Throughout the day, demonstrations covered essential techniques such as drawing out, tapering, bending, and twisting, as well as the importance of accuracy and controlled hammer blows.
Each student then had the opportunity to create a bespoke keyring or a traditional decorative coat hook. Working individually under expert guidance, they experienced the physical demands of forging while developing patience, resilience, and precision.
By the end of the session, every pupil had produced a finished, hand-forged piece to take home, whilst gaining valuable insight into traditional craftsmanship as well as strengthening their knowledge and understanding of material properties, process, and production scale.
Many thanks go to Lucy Quinnell for showing us round the amazing Fire & Iron Gallery and museum, and of course Tom Quinnell, Giles Clarke and Ben Pusey, the team of highly skilled blacksmiths who made the day such an inspirational experience for our students.”
- Keith Ditchburn Teacher of D&T: Product Design
West Heath School
West Heath School is a Specialist Independent School catering for a diverse range of needs for boys and girls.
We offer tailored one-to-one, educational blacksmithing sessions to West Health School, as an engaging and practical way of developing a wide range of skills. Forging hot iron is an elemental and fundamental process which can build confidence and offer great insight into many aspects of an educational curriculum. From maths and language to geology and art, blacksmithing really is a terrific way to illuminate the world for young enquiring minds. It has proved to be especially beneficial for those who find conventional classroom settings challenging.
Blossom House School
Blossom House is a specialist independent day school in London for pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties. We will be working with Blossom House in early 2026, delivering tailored educational blacksmithing sessions to students on a one-to-one basis.