For most students, the Woodwork is actually one of the first ‘lesson/classroom spaces’ they encounter when they first come to Summerhill because it is here that most Summerhillians create their own signing out peg.

The exploration and expression of creativity through practical woodworking and metalworking is achieved at Summerhill through an approach that is entirely child-centred, entirely child-motivated and, perhaps most importantly, the pace of work is entirely child-dictated. The work they do is project based, with the children designing and building their own projects and in this way it is a reflection of the real world of the craftsman/person who takes a standard item and redesigns it to his/her own satisfaction or that of his/her client.

The Summerhill woodwork is well stocked with a good selection of both traditional hand tools and modern power tools.
The metalwork not only has a wide range of tools for jewellery making and steel fabrication, it also boasts its own forge where the children can take up the ancient craft of blacksmithing.