WELCOME
 
Welcome to the York School of Jewellery.
 
Here you will find information about our day, evening and weekend classes which are suitable for both complete beginners and advanced students.
 
You will also find a gallery of our students' work, with links to their web sites/e-mail addresses where applicable.
 
We are an independent school of jewellery in York, with a reputation for teaching second to none. We firmly believe that the learning experience should be an exciting and happy one, so the classes are taught in a very relaxed but extremely informative manner by highly trained designer jewellers.
 
We teach not only traditional jewellery making skills, but also design skills. From ring making to belt buckles, diamond setting to box making we have both the expertise and the equipment to teach you.

If you are looking at this web site you are probably looking for jewellery classes either with us, or elsewhere.
 
Here are some tips you may find helpful for assessing your needs and classes.

Work out what you want from a class (and be honest). 
Are you looking for a social event, a new hobby or to start a new career?
Do you require a qualification?  If so, why?  Degrees and other qualifications mean nothing in a professional enviroment. You will be judged solely on the quality of your work! However a degree course should allow you full time access to workshops and facillities, ideal for developing skills more quickly. If you do want a qualification, does the provider offer the one or type you require?

Research the educational providers in your area or if more relevant, the literature.  
 
Assuming you need a provider and not a book, try and establish as a minimum;
 
1. The tutors 
Who are the tutors and what is their previous and current work like?
This will give you a good indication of their ability.
 
2. Workshop facilities. 
Are they dedicated jewellery workshops for the sole use of jewellery students or is the workshop used by a variety of students from different disciplines? Worst of all, is it a generic workshop used by a multitude of students from many disciplines?
Try and establish how many hours of access there is to the workshop.

3.Quality of tution/work.
Be aware of "weasel words" in adverts and prospectus.  "Weasel words" promise much but deliver little.
The very best way to assess the quality of a course and tuition is to look at a wide variety of past and present students work.
In addition if you can talk to current students so much the better.

By combining the above information, you should be able to ascertain whether you can actually learn what you wish from either books ( i.e basic beadstringing) or a course.
 
The learning process should be enjoyable and stretching.  Not all tutors and courses are suitable for all students so do look around. You will find what you want if you look long enough and hard enough.
 
Finally, welcome to the fascinating world of jewellery design and making. Whether you enrol with York School of Jewellery or not, we wish you every success and good luck!