Aylesford Schoolof Ceramics

Alan Parris and Mark 'Billy' Byles, longtime collaborators in studio pottery, own and run the Aylesford School of Ceramics on grounds next to the Aylesford Pottery studio. The teaching space holds eighteen pottery wheels plus a hand-building area and a separate glazing room stocked with materials for finishing work. Courses range from single experience days, including a raku firing day, through to rolling ten-to-twelve-week programmes and advanced masterclasses, alongside drop-in sessions for children and team-building days for groups. Both tutors teach hands-on, walking between wheels to correct grip and centring rather than lecturing from the front. The school sits within the wider Aylesford Priory area, drawing students who come for a single taster session and others who return term after term to build a body of work on the wheel.