We are proud to announce the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) have credit rated robinson house studio‘s popular 50 Week Furniture Design and Makers’ course at SCQF Level 8, opening more opportunities for students wishing to study furniture design and making.
Completion of this course enables students to graduate with an industry recognised qualification to which they can take to future employers.
“There really has never been a better time to train to become a furniture designer maker. Our 50 week course provides students with a SCQF Level 8 qualification* credit rated by SQA within a 50-week time frame.”
Marc Fish
With rising university costs and the impact of the pandemic prompting people to rethink their careers and job options, many individuals – from recent school-leavers to those interested in a second career – are looking at courses with real hands on experience allowing them to graduate with everything they need to succeed.
For those looking at occupations in furniture design and making, our world-renowned East Sussex furniture school, robinson house studio has been training students in furniture design and cabinet-making since 2011. From traditional woodworking to contemporary mixed-media work (view our student portfolio here), our school has a reputation in the industry for outstanding creativity and excellence, with students going on to become award winning designer-makers within the furniture industry with successful careers. Read some of our student success stories here.
This new SCQF Level 8 50 week Furniture Design and Makers course will give students the opportunity to achieve their full potential by opening up new pathways in education and careers in the furniture industry by being able to achieve to this recognised level of learning.
The new course is like no other course available in the UK
The full-time course is an intensive 50 week course focussing on the craft of fine furniture making, with students devoting many hours honing their hand skills. Students graduate from the course with industry ready skills and a portfolio of work. We can whole-heartedly say robinson house studio graduates are ready for a successful career within an exciting industry, that is currently growing and in need of skilled workers.
Find out more about the 50 week course syllabus and addition topics here – https://marcfish.co.uk/50-week-furniture-design-makers-course/.
Highest level teaching
What makes robinson house studio truly unique however, is the quality of teaching. With an impressive CV, Head Tutor and Vice Principal, Theo Cook is an accomplished master craftsman with more than 20 years industry experience. After completing his apprenticeship at the Barnsley Workshop, Theo was a maker at the highest level, creating works that have been displayed at Alnwick Castle, Longleat stately home and the Palace of Westminster, before becoming a tutor at robinson house studio.
School founder, Marc Fish
School Founder and Principal Marc Fish teaches regular design and business sessions and also offers one to one mentoring for students. The school runs alongside Marc’s own contemporary furniture making business, which operates from the same premises, and offers an insight into the day to day running of a design business, giving students a contemporary business perspective into an exciting and expanding industry in the UK and internationally.
Marc Fish has quickly achieved international acclaim, with Marc’s work being increasingly sought after by collectors worldwide. Marc’s studio is the only one in the world to solely work in laminated veneers, this technique has further developed by Marc over the past ten years. The studio uses many materials but have gained a reputation for the sculptural shapes they create using laminating techniques.
“As well as giving our students extra kudos on their CV robinson house studio‘s 50 weeks course is now rated to SCQF Level 8. We are very pleased with this news, this is a great starting point for students’ career in the furniture making industry. Our school has become known as a hothouse for new talent, many of the UK’s leading furniture-making companies and workshops turn to robinson house studio for industry recruits. With this new rated course, the opportunities are endless, giving our students more further down the line of their creative careers, whether on graduation they go to work with in a highly successful workshop or start their own business. Students can also progress their educational pathway at a later date, all of these options are now available.
Marc Fish School founder and principal.
robinson house studio is committed to the future of training outstanding furniture makers and designers who are highly skilled and ready for a career in a growing furniture industry. There’s currently a shortage of skilled craftspeople, with universities and colleges often failing to offer the level of skills required in the real world.”
A state-of-the-art facility
The course rating, follows significant and ongoing investment in the school’s facilities, with the move to an exciting new premises in 2000, the 8,000-square foot workshop is spread across two floors and features a huge selection of modern woodworking machinery, as well as a CNC router, laser cutter 3D printer and pressure forming machines.
Well connected location
Bordered by the beach and the East Sussex countryside – and just a stone’s throw from Newhaven Rail Station – connecting us to London fast, the new workshop provides an inspiring place for students to hone their woodworking skills. It also boasts a large spray/finishing room, a lecture room for classes and bench-space that’s available to local craftspeople and course graduates.
“The bench-space room is ideal for flourishing freelancers starting out on their own or graduate students who simply want the space to continue to practice their skills in a supported environment with access to the latest machinery” explains Marc.
A unique education
robinson house studio is a very unique educational establishment with a true commitment to producing the next generation of makers and by receiving the Level 8 qualification students will have even greater opportunities and career pathways for the future and the best chance at gaining employment if they wish. Our school will no doubt continue to attract students from all around the globe to be taught by our very talented craftsmen, who are both passionate about passing on their knowledge to the next generation of furniture makers.
*A SCQF Level 8 qualification is comparable to a Higher National Diploma or the first two years of a degree.
Level 9 is a degree, 10 a honours degree, 11 a masters and level 12 is equivalent to a doctorate.
For further information on our long courses visit here: https://marcfish.co.uk/furniture-making-courses/long-courses/.
Details of the SCQF can be found here, and the credit rating SQA here.
