The Leach Year 2026-2027
The Leach Year: For Intermediate potters
Clay. Form. Technique. Colour. Beauty. Utility.
A series of workshops across the year for potters to develop their skills
The Potter’s Year strives to nurture a small group of potters to develop their practice, through consolidating production skills within the ethos established by Bernard Leach. In addition, potters are encouraged to question and explore what it means to be a sustainable potter 100 years on from the beginning of the Leach Pottery.
The Leach Pottery has been a place for potters to learn over the last 100 years. Founded by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, the pottery has hosted potters ranging from Michael Cardew and William Marshall to Warren MacKenzie and Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie. Informed by the founding principles of the Leach Pottery, the potters forged their practices, styles and approaches all rooted in sound technique, form and sensitivity to utility and beauty.
Who is the Leach Year for?
The Leach Year is the ideal experience for makers who already have throwing confidence (reliably centering up to 3kg of clay, throwing repeat forms with a degree of consistency) and who are committed to developing their own practice. Potters may have access regularly to a wheel or kiln outside of this course but this is not a requirement.
The Leach year is taught in a small group of 5 potters. The workshops are taught by a small group of different tutors to ensure a diversity of skills are imparted.
If a participant has attended a Leach Pottery course previously, the Leach Year will offer you the opportunity to develop and consolidate approaches you have encountered before.
Who will you meet during your time at Leach Pottery?
The Leach Year will be taught by up to 4 freelance tutors and Leach Pottery staff. Each of these potters has a wealth of experience, each bringing different threads of studio pottery practice to the Leach Year from glaze development, production throwing, specific forms, design and tips for the everyday practical management of a studio. Additionally the tutors are experienced teaching small groups of adults ranging from beginners to practicing potters. Some of the tutors have been, or are currently, Production Potters in the Leach Pottery Production Studio and all have experience as practicing potters independent of a collaborative studio. All are united by a sensitivity to the teaching of Bernard Leach, making pots which echo the founding principles of the Leach Pottery.
The Leach Pottery Learning & Participation team are a group of potters, teachers and museum educators. The team support the delivery of the Leach Year and are familiar faces to the participants across the year. Opportunities to meet the wider Leach Pottery team, from Curators to the Director are planned at points in the programme.
The Leach Year offers the opportunity for Potters to:
· Achieve consistency of throwing repeat forms through undertaking production pottery workshops and throwing form challenges on the electric wheel to an advanced level
· Consolidate throwing technique, throwing with economy and letting the clay lead
· Develop a throwing identity and style through considered design and exploration with clay
· Make sustainable and informed choices for their practice, from choice of clay to glaze and firing methods
· Grow an understanding of glazes to then develop their own selection of glazes and trouble shoot glazing issues
While some thrown outcomes will be fired, the course focuses on the development and consolidation of skills through repetition and therefore we take a reserved approach to firing more than one outcome from each course engagement
Please note, this course focuses on the skills of pottery making and doesn’t explore the professional practice of the potter – elements such a marketing, selling and running a business aren’t covered. Equally, the programme doesn’t facilitate the opportunity to exhibit works
Feel free to email Hamish Jackson at: adult.programme@leachpottery.com if you have any questions at all!
Schedule:
Tuesday 1 September, 4-5pm: Online video meeting between participants and tutors
Monday 7 – Friday 11 September: Production
Monday 19 – Friday 23 October: Progressing & Consolidating
Monday 14 – Friday 18 December: Potter’s Challenges
Monday 1 – Friday 5 February 2027: Glaze Chemistry
Monday 1 – Friday 5 March: Surface Decoration
Monday 12 – Friday 16 April: Teapots
Monday 17 – Friday 21 May: Wood Firing (Optional extra course)
Monday 14 – Friday 18 June: Glazing, Firing and Celebration
Deposit £900
Note about the course and costs. We have tried to keep the course at the same price as previous, just adding 5% to allow for inflation of our costs. The Leach Year 2026 - 2027 will be £5460 in total.
If you would like to participate in the wood firing week that will be an extra £700. We are choosing to have this as an optional extra in case anyone does not want to participate. It will be at John MacKenzie’s kiln in Gweek and promises to be a wonderful experience. We will also open this opportunity up to our previous Leach Year cohorts but the price will be more for them. There will be a limit of 10 participants involved in this wood firing. We can talk more about this in person or on the phone if you would like.
Application
We have received significant interest in the Leach Year 2026-2027 so are asking for applications. We would love it if you could send us a short application (detailed below).
Deadline: Sunday 15 March at midnight.
Please send:
· 10 images of pots you have made
· A description of your experience with clay (maximum 300 words). This can be bullet points if you prefer.
· An explanation of why you want to take part in the Leach Year and what you hope to gain from it (maximum 300 words). This can be bullet points if you prefer.
These can be emailed to Hamish Jackson: adult.programme@leachpottery.com
Applicants will hear from us by Friday 20 March the outcome of their application. Applicants will be contacted to arrange a short video call with myself, and another member of the Leach Pottery team on Wednesday 18 March (between 2-7pm). This is an opportunity for applicants to fully understand of the nature of the course and for us to ensure applicants are suitable (in terms of expectations and skills). We are keen to impress that this is not an interview but helps us form a cohesive cohort of learners!
Again if you have any questions please reach out to Hamish.