A group of year 10 Resistant Materials pupils recently visited James of Radford Bridge, Haverfordwest. The company specialises in manufacturing high quality bespoke hardwood products such as windows, conservatories and doors. The group were given an interesting tour of the premises, by the managing director John James.

Pupils gained invaluable knowledge of the design and manufacturing process, beginning with the design work being carried out on computer aided design software packages.

From the design stage, planks of woods such as iroko and oak are machined into suitable profiles before being assembled into finished products. Pupils were able to see first-hand the importance of using computer numerically controlled machinery, having been given a demonstration of a large Masterwood CNC machining centre. The visit was very successful in supporting pupils through their GCSE course, and it was clear that James of Radford Bridge produce products that combine design excellence with quality craftsmanship.