British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) is offering schools free supported visits to the 2025 edition of the British Ceramics Biennial. We will tailor each BCB Experience to the age and access needs of your group.
The BCB Experience includes:
- A tour of some of the most significant artworks within the Biennial
- A hands-on clay engagement workshop within our Playscape Project Space
Tour
As part of the 2025 British Ceramic Biennial, we are offering guided exhibition tours tailored specifically for school groups. A member of our Learning & Participation team will lead each tour, adapting to suit the age range and learning needs of your students, ensuring an engaging and age-appropriate experience.
The one-hour tour provides a rich introduction to contemporary ceramics, highlighting a diverse selection of both UK-based and international artists. Featured works include those by Jane Perryman, whose plant-dyed ceramics emerge from a 20-year practice of reclaiming agricultural wasteland, and Daniel Silver, whose sculptural works in ceramic and oil paint explore complex themes of human experience.
In addition to established artists, the tour introduces emerging voices and features community-based projects from our Slip Tales programme. Students will also experience the Playscape – an experimental rammed earth architecture project with Tuckey Design Studio.
This tour offers a unique opportunity to support creative learning and inspire students through contemporary art practice, material exploration and social engagement.
Hands-on Clay Workshop
The Playscape Project Space is a collaborative, inclusive, and welcoming workshop space. The workshop included in the BCB Experience will allow students to engage in the principles of rammed earth. Rammed earth is an environmentally sustainable building process of creating strong formwork for construction from highly compressed clay. Workshop participants will build and shape their own rammed earth structures, which will contribute to a collaborative playscape installation developed over the six weeks of the Biennial. The students’ contributions will enhance the installation and also promote environmental learning through art, creativity, and play. There will also be activities for students who prefer not to work directly with clay.
Students will be able to see the ideas and techniques they explore via the workshop on a larger scale in the Playscape – a major new commission for the 2025 Biennial. Playscape will use rammed earth structures to create an imaginative play environment. It invites communities to engage in the co-creation of play and community spaces. We invite students to engage with this commission as part of a visit.
“I think it’s wonderful because it gives opportunities to children who would never be exposed to stuff like this… The comments underneath the descriptors of the pieces, that’s lovely. You don’t know what will inspire a child and they’ll grow from that and will notice other things. I think it’s excellent, brilliant.”
-Quote from a teacher, BCB 2023
Practicalities
- The next edition of the British Ceramics Biennial will run from 6 September to 19 October 2025
- The venue is Spode Works – original Spode factory in Stoke Town, located on Church Street, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 1BU
- The BCB Experience is 2 hours, one hour for the tour and one hour for time in the engagement space
The maximum group size is 30. For groups over 30, we ask that you divide your group and book two time slots.
There is no charge for the BCB Experience, but a voluntary donation (suggested value of £2 per group participant) would be gratefully received. Donations can be made in cash or by card at the Biennial Welcome Desk.
Book here for the BCB Experience for the 2025 Biennial.
About BCB
British Ceramics Biennial presents artworks from leading international contemporary ceramic artists and introduces fresh new talent through commissions and partnerships, drawing on Stoke-on-Trent’s industrial heritage and creative spirit. For more of what’s on during the 2025 British Ceramics Biennial please follow this link: Full programme announced for British Ceramics Biennial 2025 – British Ceramics Biennial
We look forward to welcoming you to the 2025 British Ceramics Biennial, set against the backdrop of a truly significant period for the city and its craft heritage. In 2024, Stoke-on-Trent was proudly awarded World Craft City status by the World Crafts Council. This prestigious recognition is granted to cities that demonstrate outstanding social, cultural and economic contributions through craft.
The year 2025 also marks a momentous milestone: the centenary of Stoke-on-Trent. Renowned globally as “The Potteries,” the city boasts a distinguished heritage in craftsmanship, industry, and culture. Over the past century, Stoke-on-Trent has evolved from an industrial heartland into a dynamic hub for heritage, the arts and contemporary ceramics.