The fourth annual MakeIT! Awards, recognising excellence in furniture and wood design amongst school students, will take place on Wednesday 19th June at the Rycotewood Furniture Centre in Oxford. The awards are being held as part of the college's annual furniture show which brings together industry experts, teachers and students to celebrate Britain’s emerging design talent in the furniture industry.

MakeIT! Furniture and MakeIT! Wood are industry-based projects and competitions for schools, mapped to the national curriculum and diplomas. The competition aims to raise awareness of the careers available within the industry as well as the skills that are required. It familiarises students with how furniture and wood are designed and made within the industries through researching and designing products whilst investigating the various different aspects of the industry from sourcing raw materials to producing finished products.

Lisa Williamson, head of the MakeIT! programmes at the National Skills Academy for Materials, Production and Supply, says: “We were amazed by the high quality entries for this year’s programme, which made the judging very hard. The quality of the winning designs and workbooks really shows off the value of the MakeIT! Programmes as well as raising awareness of the industries.”

The awards will bring together a host of industry figures and professionals along with the finalist schools to celebrate the hard work and achievements of the hundreds of students who took part in this year’s MakeIT! Furniture and MakeIT! Wood competitions.

The finalists and winners were selected through a judging process whereby industry experts assessed the skills and knowledge demonstrated by the students. Each entrant also had to provide evidence of their knowledge of the materials used in manufacturing and production to demonstrate that they understand the issues around sustainability in furniture, furnishings and interiors or wood and timber industries.

Neale Brewster, Howarth Timber & Building Supplies, the main sponsor of MakeIT! Wood, says: "We are delighted that this year’s awards will help to celebrate such a talented group of young people. The ceremony itself is always a great occasion, and I’m really looking forward to meeting the participants and the winners!”

The MakeIT! Furniture and MakeIT! Wood relies on industry support and this year Webs Training, Robert Bosch, James Latham, Howarth Timber & Building Supplies, Timber Trade Federation and many more have contributed to the programmes continuing success.