Bespoke Solutions for a Brand New Campus
Continuing the theme of Scotland’s investment in modern learning facilities, Nortek Group headed to St Andrews in early 2026 to deliver a suite of Design & Technology furniture for Madras College.
Completed in 2021, the £50 million campus was designed around modern teaching methods, with extensive vocational learning spaces and cutting-edge equipment. With the facility operating at close to full capacity, the school took the decision to adapt existing classrooms to accommodate additional students and expand its practical learning provision.
Working alongside our friends at AES, Nortek Group helped transform these spaces with a combination of proven products from our Craftwork range and bespoke furniture designed specifically around the requirements of the project.
One of the standout elements of the project was the large demonstration bench.
At Nortek Group, our ability to design and manufacture bespoke educational furniture allows us to solve challenges that cannot always be met with standard products. In this instance, Madras College required an unusually large demonstration bench that could also be dismantled, allowing it to be transported into the classroom and assembled in situ.
After struggling to source a suitable solution elsewhere, Nortek Group was able to develop a bespoke design specifically for the space.
The finished bench measured 2800mm x 1500mm and featured a two-part worktop manufactured from 40mm solid staved beech. Beneath this, a demountable fabricated steel frame provided the strength and stability required for practical classroom use while retaining the flexibility to be dismantled in the future.
Should the school ever need to relocate the bench to another teaching space, facilities staff can disassemble the structure, move the individual components and reassemble it in its new location. It is a good example of how bespoke design can provide both an immediate solution and greater flexibility over the lifetime of the furniture.
We are also seeing an increasing number of schools specify variable-height workstations as part of their practical learning environments. This is often down to the release of the Inclusive Mainstream Fund by the government earlier in the year. The fund is intended to break down the usual barriers faced by students to make learning as inclusive and open as possible. This includes ensuring all students can perform practical work in D&T like the rest of the class.
Creating inclusive classrooms means considering whether every student can access the same equipment and participate fully in the same activities. Standard-height practical benches can present difficulties for younger or shorter students, as well as learners who use wheelchairs or have other accessibility requirements.
For Madras College, a bespoke Special Needs Variable Height Workstation was supplied with a solid beech worktop to complement the surrounding Craftwork furniture.
Our Variable Height Workstations allow practical work to take place at significantly lower working heights than a standard Craftwork bench, helping students access worktops and vices more comfortably. This gives schools greater flexibility when adapting practical classrooms around the individual needs of learners and supports a more inclusive approach to vocational education.
The Craftwork 2000 four-person woodworking bench formed the backbone of the wider installation.
A staple of the Nortek Group Craftwork range, the four-person configuration provides a large, stable working area for practical activities while also functioning effectively for written and project-based work.
At Madras College, the benches were paired with our Large Under Bench Storage Cupboards, providing valuable space for materials, student projects, tools and equipment without occupying additional floor area elsewhere in the classroom.
Workshop furniture also needs to remain stable throughout repeated practical use. Even within modern buildings, floors are not always perfectly level, which is why Craftwork benches are fitted with height-adjustable, non-slip feet. These allow each workstation to be levelled correctly during installation, helping provide a solid platform when students are using vices and hand tools.
Unlike all-timber or bolt-together alternatives, the Craftwork range uses a fully welded steel frame designed to resist the loosening and movement that can develop in heavily used practical furniture over time. Combined with hard-wearing worktops and replaceable components, this makes the range particularly well suited to demanding secondary school D&T environments.
Vocational education plays an essential role in developing the practical, technical and problem-solving skills required by future generations.
Madras College is another excellent example of a Scottish school investing seriously in practical learning and ensuring its facilities can continue to adapt as demand grows.
For Nortek Group, the project demonstrates the value of combining proven British-made educational furniture with bespoke design and manufacturing capability. Whether a school requires a complete workshop fit-out, additional workstations or a one-off solution that cannot be sourced from a catalogue, our team can design furniture around the space and the way it needs to be used.
If your school is looking to take its practical learning facilities to the next level, get in touch with our design team to explore our range of educational furniture or discuss a bespoke solution for your classroom.
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