Trentham Academy

In August 2026, Trentham Academy approached Nortek Group with an unusual challenge in one of its Design & Technology workshops.

The long, rectangular classroom features windows running down one side and a V-shaped wall on the opposite side. This unusual layout means the main teaching wall and whiteboard need to be positioned at the far end of the room.

With a conventional arrangement of four-person woodworking benches, this presented a significant problem. Half of the students would naturally be seated facing away from the teaching wall, meaning they would have to turn around on their stools whenever the teacher was presenting, demonstrating or using the whiteboard. More importantly, they could not comfortably take notes or complete written work while facing the front of the classroom.

At the same time, the academy’s existing all-timber woodworking benches had reached the end of their usable life and were beginning to become unstable. The school also needed the refurbished workshop to accommodate more students.

Rather than simply supplying replacement furniture, the Nortek Group design team developed a bespoke solution around the way the classroom actually needed to function.

One Bench, Two Ways of Learning

Eight bespoke Craftwork 1000 2400mm x 1200mm woodworking benches were designed for the project and arranged across four double rows to maximise the available space.

However, these were not standard Craftwork benches.

Each workstation was manufactured with three woodworking vices positioned along just one side of the bench, with the opposite side left completely clear.

The benches were then orientated so students sitting on the vice-free side naturally face the teaching wall. During theory lessons, demonstrations or written exercises, pupils can sit comfortably at the workbench, look directly towards the teacher and whiteboard and use the large work surface for notebooks, drawings and other classroom work.

When it is time for practical activities, students simply move to the opposite side of the same bench, where the woodworking vices are positioned ready for use.

This relatively simple change transformed how the room could operate, effectively allowing each workstation to serve two distinct purposes without reducing the number of pupils that could be taught within the space.

Making Practical Learning More Inclusive

Alongside the eight bespoke Craftwork 1000 benches, Nortek Group also supplied six Special Needs Variable Height Workstations for students requiring a more accessible working height.

Inclusive learning environments are becoming an increasingly important consideration when schools refurbish practical teaching spaces. Guidance associated with the Inclusive Mainstream Fund places emphasis on removing commonly occurring and predictable barriers to learning, and classroom furniture can form an important part of that process.

A standard Craftwork bench has a fixed working height, which may not be appropriate for every learner. Nortek Group’s Special Needs Variable Height Workstations provide up to 300mm of vertical adjustment, allowing the working surface and vice position to be adapted to suit individual requirements. For Trentham Academy this means that any future students who made use a wheelchair are catered for.

Height adjustment is operated using a removable handle, allowing staff to configure the workstation as required while preventing unnecessary adjustment during lessons.

This gives wheelchair users and other students who benefit from a lower working height greater access to both practical and written activities alongside the rest of the class.

Bespoke British Manufacturing

Bespoke school furniture is what we do best. Being a UK manufacturer gives Nortek Group the flexibility required to make the project possible.

Rather than asking Trentham Academy to compromise its classroom layout around an off-the-shelf product, our design and manufacturing teams were able to adapt an established Craftwork workstation around the specific requirements of the school.

The resulting 2400mm x 1200mm benches retain the heavy-duty construction associated with the Craftwork range while incorporating a completely bespoke vice configuration.

For practical classrooms with unusual dimensions, fixed building features or specific teaching requirements, this ability to modify furniture can make the difference between simply filling a room and creating a space that genuinely works.

Furniture Designed Around the Way You Teach

At Nortek Group, we pride ourselves on solving the challenges schools face rather than simply supplying furniture from a catalogue, and Trentham Academy was a perfect example.

The finished solution addressed the unusual classroom layout, replaced ageing furniture, increased capacity and provided more inclusive working options without compromising the way practical lessons are delivered.

Working closely with the academy, our design team was able to create a classroom in which students can move naturally between teacher-led instruction, written work and practical activities without the furniture becoming a barrier.

Trentham Academy now has a flexible, robust Design & Technology workshop built around the way its teachers want to teach and its pupils need to learn.

With heavy-duty British-made construction and bespoke school furniture designed specifically for demanding environments, the new workshop is equipped to support practical learning for many years to come.

If your classroom presents a similar challenge, get in touch with the Nortek Group team to discuss how a bespoke furniture solution could help you make better use of your space.