On an ordinary weekday you might notice several cars parked in the grounds of the Nightingale Cemetery – just off Deanery Road in Godalming. That’s because this is where the Skillway Workshops are based in the two Old Chapels. As a charity, they provide vocational training for 13-16-year-old young people, who are struggling to succeed in the confines of a classroom, to improve their practical skills alongside their personal character and confidence – preparing them to take the next step towards a positive future.
The motivational tuition has two objectives: primarily in building practical work-based trade skills and then in building confidence, self-esteem and life skills whilst working in collaboration with others. Students are supervised and taught by the workshop tutors and skilled volunteers, who direct and advise them in their practical learning in carpentry and joinery, and metalwork and basic engineering.
Skillway aims to work in harmony with student’s other learning to give them a feeling of success and an ability to achieve in a low pressure, nurturing environment. As such, the charity works with a number of local state schools who refer students, as well as home-educated students who attend for a variety of reasons related to their learning needs: Being open and inclusive with the student intake is at the core of Skillway’s mission. As it runs on a charitable basis, it is always looking out for skilled volunteers without whom it is always in need.
Around forty students are currently supported each week at Skillway with four students in each workshop at a time. This creates an advantageous tutor-to-student ratio and is one of the many reasons that Skillway is a unique offer different to mainstream schooling. There is also a craft studio at the back of the Chapels, where creative crafts, pottery, stone carving, glasswork and jewellery making take place one day a week. As an added benefit, students also visit Skillway’s woodland site where they experience outdoor work focused on learning-by-doing that incorporates bushcraft, ecological projects, and support in managing emotions.
Students will often complete a project every couple of weeks or so during their time at Skillway, for which they receive certification and accredited AQA unit qualifications. The practical projects they complete are the best demonstration of what they have learned and as they take each completed project home these can be used as reference material when applying for jobs or further education.
Skillway’s service to young people remains increasingly necessary as they work to support their development, aspirations and wellbeing. As they become young adults and leave, they are encouraged to use their new-found skills, confidence and positive outlook to find their way in life.
If you’d like to support Skillway’s work, please contact Jack at workshop@skillway.net.
