Furniture
The Rycotewood Furniture Centre is a specialist teaching and training centre for further education, apprenticeship and higher education qualifications in furniture making and design. We are located on the Oxford city centre campus at OCVC.
Rycotewood is a centre of excellence with an international reputation for innovative furniture design and making.
In partnership with Bucks New University, we formed the National School of Furniture (NSF). The NSF offers furniture training from Level 1 to Level 8 (doctorate). Here at Rycotewood we offer Level 1 through to Level 6 (BA hons top-up degree).
See our Furniture courses, including apprenticeships and our new part-time course in upholstery.
We also run learning-for-leisure courses which are short - typically 5-10 weeks - and very affordable.
Woodwork, woodcarving, furniture restoration, make a dovetailed box, make a bugbox and an introduction to 3D Studio Max are among the subjects.
You can find them in this list of learning for leisure courses.
Experienced staff
Our staff are highly professional furniture designers/makers who have worked in industry and keep up-to-date with current practices. They have extensive experience in inspiring, guiding and preparing students for the furniture industry. Staff are also active members of The Furniture Makers Livery Company, British Antique Restorers Association and the Sector Skills Council.
Industry contacts
Industrial liaison is at the heart of our course delivery. The area has strong links with companies such as Hands of Wycombe, Ercol, Harrods, Jonathan Rose and Benchmark Furniture. Scholarships are offered by the Furniture Industry Trust, private benefactors and by NADFAS (National Association of Decorative Fine Arts Societies).
The Rycotewood Furniture Centre holds a kitemark in the Training Quality Standards in Excellence of furniture manufacture. We are an accredited provider of the National Skills Academy for Materials, Production and Supply.
Top prizes
Our students regularly collect top awards in national competitions. They have won 1st prize in the New Forest Trust Fine Crafted Wood Competition three times in the last five years (and won 2nd and 3rd prize four times each), the Young British Designer of the Year (Mixology Awards) in 2011, and the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers/Kinnarps Design Project in 2011.
