We were so impressed with The Peak Academy’s philosophy and achievements, we asked their students to design and produce a stool for us. You can purchase these beautiful wooden stools from Spaceoasis®, with all profits going back to The Peak Academy. Here’s why we wanted to get involved with this inspiring school.

Many schools aspire to help their students develop ‘real world skills’ or ‘bridge the gap between the worlds of education and work’, but few manage it as convincingly as The Peak Academy. Students working in the school’s DT workshop make products of such high quality that visitors have been known to ask if they can buy them, at full retail price, on the spot. They already sell their picnic tables to other schools and have aspirational plans to expand their production capabilities even further. DT students have their  own fully equipped tool box, use proper individual workbenches and the school is gradually acquiring the same professional machinery found in ‘real world’ workshops, closing the gap between skills acquired at school and those needed in a professional environment.

“People who visit us are blown away by the quality of what our students produce,” said Cen Davies, the Peak Academy’s KS 3 and 4 Manager and DT specialist. “Some of our students think they are no good at anything. Our DT programme gives them an opportunity to build their self-esteem by learning how to design and make products that are of a genuinely excellent standard. It gives them real sense of self-belief and a confidence that helps them in other areas of their lives.”

The Peak Academy, part of the White Horse Federation, is a school for children who are statemented as having social, emotional or mental health needs. The school’s mission is to enable them to fulfil their potential and to leave the school with useful, practical skills that they can use in work and in daily life. We met The Peak Academy at a White Horse Federation Business Partnering Evening, which the Federation held to nurture partnerships with local businesses and suppliers.

The Peak Academy stools are part of our permanent product portfolio, providing an ongoing, sustainable source of income for the school and a national platform for the students’ skills and achievements.