7 Pottery Classes to Try in London This November

It starts on 28 November at Turning Earth's Hoxton Learning Hub, 14:30 to 17:30. Every session is spent at the wheel: centring, then cylinders, cups and bowls, then trimming, handles and slip decoration with sgraffito. Clay, studio glazes and use of the equipment are included. Bring an apron.

We'd choose this if you are fairly sure about throwing and want eight weeks of repetition, which is what centring clay really takes. It is listed for complete beginners and for people coming back after a general pottery course.

It runs on Friday evenings, 18:30 to 21:00, in Hackney Wick, starting 27 November. Trace Ceramics' own page says it runs to 15 January, with no classes on Christmas Day or New Year's Day. Groups are capped at eight, and you will typically make around six pieces.

One thing to budget for: the studio asks you to have an eight-piece tool kit, which it sells for £12, or you can bring your own. We'd choose this as a regular Friday-night habit through the winter if you want to try both ways of working before committing to one.

In the first, you learn pinching, coils and slabs and make a small object. It is then fired, and in the second session you decorate it with underglazes and glaze it. Sessions are on Wednesday afternoons, 14:00 to 17:00, at WM College on Crowndale Road in Camden, starting 18 November. Clay, tools, glazes and firing are included.

We'd choose this if you are free on a weekday afternoon and want to understand how a pot is actually made, start to finish, for less than £100.

The Thursday sessions run from 18:30 to 21:00, on 19 and 26 November. There are also Sunday afternoon sessions, 14:30 to 17:00, on 22 and 29 November. All materials are included, and you can bring your own drinks.

Your planter is kiln-fired after the workshop, and the studio says it takes around 14 working days to be ready. If it is meant as a Christmas present, the earlier November dates give you the most breathing room. We'd choose this for a relaxed evening out with a friend rather than as a way to learn pottery properly.

It runs for twelve Thursday evenings, 18:30 to 21:00, at the Walthamstow studio, from 26 November. Each week focuses on a different technique across hand-building, throwing, surface decoration and glazing, with plenty of time to practise. SkandiHus's own page says there are no classes on 24 and 31 December, and that clay is charged at £5 per kg of work you want fired, on top of the £420.

We'd choose this if you have done a beginners' course, want a structured way to keep improving through the winter, and want to push on rather than repeat the basics.

It is untutored and aimed at confident, independent makers who have already done the college's Pottery for Intermediates course. Clay, glazes and oxides are provided, but there is no wheel access during these sessions, so it suits hand-building and glazing projects.

We'd choose this if you live in south-west London, already have a project on the go and want inexpensive studio time before the end of term. It is not for a first pottery class. The college also says courses need a minimum number of bookings to run.

It is a beginner hand-building workshop at Muni's Battersea studio. You shape mushroom candleholders, decorate them with coloured slips and can send up to three for firing. No experience is needed, and clay, glazes and tools are included. The session on Sunday 29 November runs from 13:30 to 15:30. There is also a Sunday 15 November session at the same time.

One caveat for gift-makers: Muni says pieces take three to six weeks to be ready, so if they are meant as Christmas presents, check timings when you book. We'd choose this if you are curious about pottery and want a seasonal first go without spending hundreds of pounds.