Wheel Throwing Classes

Learn to throw on the potter's wheel, from your first wobbly cylinder to confident bowls, cups, and vases. Wheel throwing courses run at all four London locations, in eight or twelve weeks.

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A young woman with braided hair shaping clay on a pottery wheel in a pottery class

Three people shaping clay on pottery wheels in a ceramics class

Handmade ceramic pots crafted at Turning Earth pottery studio in London

3 hours

Each lesson

inc. 30 min cleanup

12 students

Per teacher

per session

6-12 weeks

Course length

one session per week

£260

Price from

8-week course

All levels

Experience

no experience needed

As featured in

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Evening Standard

Ceramic Review

What to expect

Wheel throwing courses focus entirely on the potter's wheel. Every session is spent throwing, which builds the muscle memory and technique a beginner needs to start working with clay rather than wrestling it.
Across your sessions, you'll move from centring and basic cylinders through to bowls, cups, plates, and more complex shapes. Your tutor works at your pace, with as much one-to-one time as the twelve-student class size allows.
We handle the firing. First the bisque firing, then the glaze firing. Firing is the only thing charged separately, at £2.50 per 500g, which works out at around £2 per piece. You only pay for what you keep, so there's no pressure to fire everything you make.

Person shaping clay on a pottery wheel using a metal tool.

What you'll learn

Your tutor will start by introducing you to the studio and the wheel itself. How it works, how to position your body, and how to prepare the clay. Then you'll get straight into centring, the foundation of everything else on the wheel.

From centring, you'll learn to open the clay and pull walls. These are the basic moves behind every thrown form. Most people can throw a recognisable cylinder by their second or third session. From there, you'll start shaping: bowls, cups, and more complex forms each require different techniques. You'll also learn to make handles and attach them to your pieces.

You'll learn to trim your pieces on the wheel once they've dried to leather-hard. This means refining the foot ring, thinning the walls, and cleaning up the form. You'll also try surface decoration, including sgraffito and decorating slips.

When your pieces are ready, you'll choose from a selection of our in-house glazes and apply them yourself. We fire the pieces you want to keep, bisque first, then glaze. Finished work is ready for collection two to three weeks later.

You'll leave with a working set of throwing skills and a collection of pieces you've thrown and glazed yourself. Most people are surprised by what they produce.

Techniques covered

Wedging & clay prep

Centring

Opening & pulling walls

Handle making

Shaping (bowls, cups, plates)

Trimming & foot rings

Sgraffito & slip decoration

Glaze application

What our students say

Three students who've been through a wheel throwing course, in their own words.

“Linda is the best ceramics teacher I have had - and I’ve shopped around some of the popular London ceramics classes a bit. So clear, so supportive and cheerful, so generous and kind. I’ve learnt a lot!”

8-Week Introduction to Wheel Throwing, Leyton, 2022

“Vanessa is an excellent teacher. She managed a course with a range participants - from absolute beginners to quite accomplished throwers. I really gained a great deal from her clear teaching methods and individual attention that she skilfully offered to all on the course. I would highly recommend Vanessa to other members of the Highgate community and beyond. Thank you”

Kelly, 8-Week Introduction to Wheel Throwing, Highgate, 2026

“Ben was an excellent teacher, the best I have experienced so far! ( I have some courses in Montreal and London before this) Ben was skilled at demonstrating, explaining and teaching, in that he was able to provide suggestions on how to improve etc. The learning environment was well organized and felt accepting of each of us no matter what stage we have reached.”

12-Week Wheel Throwing Course, Hoxton, 2023

Find the right course for you

Three course lengths, all wheel-only. Same techniques, different amounts of practice time.

FIRST TIMERS

6-Week Introduction to Wheel Throwing

from £260

6 weeks3 hours/weekNo experience needed

Six sessions covering centring, throwing cylinders and bowls, trimming, and glazing. The shortest of our wheel-only beginner courses, for people who want to learn the wheel without committing to eight weeks.

View available dates →

FIRST TIMERS

8-Week Introduction to Wheel Throwing

from £340

8 weeks3 hours/weekNo experience needed

Eight sessions covering the basics: centring, pulling walls, shaping bowls and cups, trimming, and glazing. The most popular starting point for people who know they want to throw.

View available dates →

GO DEEPER

Group working on pottery in a well-lit studio

12-Week Wheel Throwing Course

from £515

12 weeks3 hours/weekNo experience needed

Twelve weeks gives you room to refine your throwing, experiment with form, and build a small collection of finished work. Suits first-timers ready for a longer commitment, and people coming back to the wheel after a break.

View available dates →

Get notified when new class dates are released

Just new class dates, roughly once a month.

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Why learn to throw at Turning Earth?

We run wheel throwing courses at four London locations: Hoxton, Leyton, Highgate, and Camden. Pick whichever fits your week. Every student gets their own wheel for the full session.

Three of these are our own open-access studios where members work alongside the classes throughout the day. Camden is a teaching space we run at the Camden Art Centre.

We've been doing this since 2013. We were one of London's first dedicated open-access ceramics studios, and over a decade of teaching has shaped both how we structure our courses and how we look after the people in them.

Turning Earth is a social enterprise. We exist to keep studio ceramics alive and accessible in London, and we work to improve the studios and support the people who use them.

Students working on pottery around a table in a well-lit studio with large windows

Frequently asked questions

Practical questions about classes, materials, and what to expect.

Do I need any experience to try wheel throwing?

▸

No. Most people who book have never sat at a potter's wheel before. The first session starts with the basics, including how to position your body, how to prepare clay, and how to centre it. Teachers work at the pace of whoever's in the room, so people with some experience can move faster while complete beginners take their time.

Is wheel throwing hard to learn?

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The first session is humbling for everyone. That's normal. Centring clay takes practice, and most people need two or three sessions before it starts to click. That's why our courses run over weeks rather than days, so the learning curve has time to happen. By the halfway point, the vast majority of students are centring confidently and throwing recognisable forms.

What's included in the course fee?

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Tuition, clay, glazes, and use of studio equipment are all included. Firing is the only thing charged separately, at £2.50 per 500g, which works out at around £2 per piece. You can bring your own tools or pick up our eight-piece starter toolkit at the studio for £5. We have aprons at every studio, so you don't need to bring your own.

How many people are in a class?

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Twelve students maximum per teacher. That's the upper limit where one teacher can still give everyone meaningful one-to-one time across a three-hour session.

What's the difference between the 6, 8, and 12-week courses?

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All three cover the same core techniques: centring, pulling walls, shaping bowls and cups, trimming, and glazing. The difference is how much practice time you get with each.The 6-week is the shortest. You'll cover everything but with less time to repeat each step before moving on. Good if you can't commit to a longer course and want the basics.The 8-week is the most popular starting point. It introduces each technique with enough time to practise before the next one's introduced, and you'll leave with finished pieces.The 12-week gives you the longest format, with extra weeks built in for repetition, experimenting with different forms, and refining what you've learned. Suits people ready to commit, and people coming back for more time at the wheel.If you're not sure, the 8-week is the safe bet. You can always book a longer course next time.

What happens to my finished pieces?

▸

After your final session, you choose which pieces to keep. We glaze them, fire them in the kiln, and they're typically ready for collection two to three weeks later. We'll let you know when they're ready and can hold them for up to two months. Firing is charged at £2.50 per 500g, around £2 per piece. The number of pieces you take home depends on course length, size, and complexity. On a twelve-week course, most students finish between six and ten glazed pieces. Slightly fewer on the eight-week. Don't feel rushed.

Which location should I book?

▸

Whichever is most convenient. Wheel throwing courses run at all four locations: Hoxton, Leyton, Highgate, and Camden. Teaching, equipment, and materials are consistent across all of them. Hoxton, Leyton, and Highgate are our own open-access studios; Camden is a class venue we run at the Camden Art Centre.

Can I buy this as a gift?

▸

Yes, two ways. A gift voucher covers any course and stays valid for twelve months, with the recipient picking their own dates and studio. Or, to give a specific class, book it as normal and enter their details as the attendee rather than your own, so the confirmation and joining instructions go straight to them.

Do I also learn hand-building on these courses?

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No. These are wheel-only courses. If you want to try hand-building too, including pinching, coiling, and slab work, our all-level classes cover both disciplines.

What should I wear? Anything else I need to know?

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Something you don't mind getting clay on. It washes out of most fabrics, but lighter colours can pick up stains. Avoid long, loose sleeves because they'll drag through wet clay on the wheel. Closed-toe shoes are sensible because studio floors get wet and tools occasionally get dropped, but they're not required. Please bring an apron. Long hair needs tying back. One thing worth knowing for the wheel specifically: long nails make throwing noticeably harder. You don't need to cut them short, but be aware they'll affect your grip.

Can I continue after my course ends?

▸

Yes. After your course, you can keep going in two directions. Our 12-week Intermediate Throwing Course picks up the next layer of techniques: collaring, belly shapes, plates, throwing off the hump, and more complex forms. It's designed for people confident with centring, cylinders, bowls, and trimming. You can also apply for studio membership at Hoxton, Leyton, or Highgate. That gives you independent access to wheels, kilns, and shared studio space on a monthly rolling basis. Members work independently, with technicians on hand for advice and equipment questions but not teaching. We recommend completing at least one course first, but if you ever want more structured guidance after joining, members can book private tuition sessions for one-to-one teaching.

Students working on ceramics at a Turning Earth studio table

Know someone who’d love this?

Our gift vouchers cover any of our courses, from a single taster session to a full twelve-week programme. The recipient picks their own class and dates, with twelve months to use it.

Ceramics is one of those things people have always meant to try. A voucher gives them an actual occasion to start. Because there's no fixed date on the gift itself, they can find a week that genuinely works rather than scrambling round a pre-booked slot.

Vouchers are sent by email immediately after purchase. If you'd rather gift a specific course on a specific date, you can do that directly through the course pages instead.

Buy a gift voucher

AFTER YOUR COURSE

A course gives you the fundamentals and enough time to know whether you want to keep going

From there, intermediate courses build on what you've learned, and studio membershipgives you independent access to wheels, kilns, and shared studio space at Hoxton, Leyton, and Highgate. If you want to develop a serious ceramics practice, In Production is our dedicated studio space for professional makers.

Most people start with a single course and see where it takes them.

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