Woodturning School overhauls courses and website for 2026

Martin Saban-Smith used Turner’s Journey Episode 23, posted January 16, 2026, to lay out a substantial refresh at The Woodturning School aimed squarely at improving the student experience for 2026. The update mixed operational housekeeping with course changes and community-facing announcements that will affect anyone booking classes or following the school this year.

At the heart of the update is a ground-up rebuild of the school website. The work is intended to make content and bookings easier to navigate, and to better present lesson plans and supporting materials. Martin described an overhaul of lesson structure across courses while the site is being rebuilt, with the specific goal of clearer pathways for beginners progressing to intermediate turning.

The two-day beginners class is the most concrete curriculum change. Day one will feature new starter projects designed to get students turning confidently from the first session, while day two has been reworked around a larger bowl exercise to give learners more practice with bowl gouge technique and finishing work. That shift aims to accelerate skill development and leave students with a useful, finished piece at the end of the course.

On the workshop side, Martin reported a focused tidy up of the teaching space and the production of a planned workshop walkaround video for enrolled students. The video will give newcomers a chance to familiarise themselves with the layout, safety flow, and tool locations before they arrive, reducing first-day nerves and making in-person time more productive.

Printed materials are also part of the push. Proof copies of a 60-page Workshop Companion have arrived, moving the school toward a consistent take-home reference that pairs with classroom instruction. Those printed pages are intended to lock in techniques covered in class and serve as a long-term reference for students between sessions.

Looking beyond the school’s own courses, Martin noted that guest-tutor bookings for 2026 are ongoing, promising a steady program of visiting instructors to broaden skills and styles available to students. He also teased a Halloween-themed class scheduled for late January, an example of themed workshops that bring different techniques and design ideas into the calendar.

Practical implications are straightforward: expect clearer course outlines, a rebuilt website with improved navigation, a tangible Workshop Companion to carry home, and video resources that smooth the transition into the workshop. Bookings for guest-tutor sessions are moving, so check the school’s updated channels as they go live. The overhaul signals a year of tighter programming and more support for turners at every level as The Woodturning School steps into 2026.