Stoneware, thrown and shaped, with a white pitted glaze.

Lucy Rie came to Britain as a refugee from Austria in 1938. She set up a studio in London from 1939 which she shared with Hans Coper from 1947-58.

In Schools: It would have been fun to try re-shaping or squashing a thrown pot as Rie has done.

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Stoneware, thrown, with an iron wash.

Hans Coper came to England as a refugee from Germany in 1939 and from 1946 he worked with Lucy Rie. He taught at Camberwell School of Art and the Royal College. In 1967 he moved to Frome, in Somerset.

In Schools: The iron wash gives this piece a very distinct colour, which might have inspired different glazes and decorative techniques.

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Unglazed earthenware with painted decoration, made at Wenford Bridge.

Michael Cardew trained with Bernard Leach before setting up potteries at Winchcombe in Gloucestershire, Wenford Bridge in Cornwall and later working in Africa.

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Stoneware with sgraffito decoration through a tenmoku glaze.

Bernard Leach originally trained as a fine artist. He was inspired to become a potter after going to a raku pottery party whilst living in Japan. He set up the Leach Pottery at St. Ives in 1920.

In schools: Children might have enjoyed drawing an animal through a slip or glaze.

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Stoneware, thrown and faceted, with a tenmoku glaze

In Schools: this object combines curved and straight lines, perhaps encouraging children to mix forms and shapes.

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Stoneware, thrown and shaped with combed decoration through the glaze.

Bernard Leach originally trained as a fine artist. He was inspired to become a potter after going to a raku pottery party whilst living in Japan. He set up the Leach Pottery at St. Ives in 1920.

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Stoneware slab-built with tenmoku glaze, with brush resist decoration.

Shoji Hamada was a Japanese potter who helped Leach set up his pottery at St. Ives and was to work there for four years before returning to Japan. His work was to be very influential in Britain inspiring a wide range of potters not just those interested in the Leach tradition.

In Schools: A simple but very uniform slab-pot for children to try.

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Stoneware, thrown and carved.

Janet Leach was born in America and came to ceramics in her late 20s, starting her own pottery. Later she trained in Japan. In 1956 she married Bernard Leach and subsequently ran the pottery at St. Ives.

In Schools: How easy would it be to make a pot as big as this?

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Stoneware, hand-built with a carved surface.

Janet Leach was born in America and came to ceramics in her late 20s, starting her own pottery. Later she trained in Japan. In 1956 she married Bernard Leach and subsequently ran the pottery at St. Ives.

In Schools:  It would be a challenge to try creating a textured surface like this.

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Stoneware, with an ash glaze painted with iron decoration.

Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie was one of Bernard Leach’s first pupils. She went on to run a pottery at the family home at Coleshill in Wiltshire specialising in using ash glazes made from the trees on the estate.

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Stoneware, thrown and assembled, with an iron wash

In Schools: This unusually shaped pot might inspire experimenting with construction.

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Stoneware, hand-built.

Colin Thorburn was a student of Lucie Rie & Hans Coper in the 1970s. He worked as a potter in Buckinghamshire.

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Stoneware, thrown and assembled with poured and splattered glaze decoration.

John Dan’s work was well-known in the 1960s, he opened a pottery at Wivenhoe in Essex in 1953.

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Earthenware, thrown, with an unglazed exterior.

Peter Smith trained as a chemist and later taught and ran his own pottery. His interest is in the properties of clay itself which he reveals often unmediated in his work – don’t know what this means.

In schools: it looks easy to create a simple pot that is full of life, but the trick is to know when to stop.

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Stoneware, hand-built with textured glaze.

Dan Arbeid is regarded as an important experimental post-war potter known for his exploration of hand-building and surface textures.

In schools: How would you construct a giant bamboo like this?

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Stoneware, hand-built with incised decoration.

Gillian Lowndes studied at the Central School {where is this?] and in Paris before setting up a workshop, from 1966 to 1971 in Chippenham with Ian Auld. She later taught in art colleges in London and Bristol. From the late 1970s her work gradually became more sculptural incorporating other materials.

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Porcelain hand-built and pinched into shape.

Gillian Lowndes studied at the Central School {where is this?] and in Paris before setting up a workshop, from 1966 to 1971 in Chippenham with Ian Auld. She later taught in art colleges in London and Bristol. From the late 1970s her work gradually became more sculptural incorporating other materials.

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Stoneware, hand-built, part coiled part pressed in a mould, with a dipped and poured glaze.

Ruth Duckworth was born in Germany and came to Britain as a refugee in 1936. She studied sculpture and painting at Liverpool before taking a ceramics course at the Central School where she later taught. She went to Chicago in 1964 and later emigrated to America.

In schools: This coil-mould technique is an easy way to make a sphere without throwing on a wheel.

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Stoneware, hand-built with inlaid decoration

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Stoneware, hand-built and glazed.

Ruth Duckworth was born in Germany and came to Britain as a refugee in 1936. She studied sculpture and painting at Liverpool before taking a ceramics course at the Central School where she later taught. She went to Chicago in 1964 and later emigrated to America.

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Stoneware, thrown with turquoise glass strip.

Robin Welch set up a pottery in Suffolk in 1965 which continues today. He is known for his domestic tableware with distinctive matt glazes.

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Stoneware, press-moulded with brushed coloured glazes.

Ruth Duckworth was born in Germany and came to Britain as a refugee in 1936. She studied sculpture and painting at Liverpool before taking a ceramics course at the Central School where she later taught. She went to Chicago in 1964 and later emigrated to America.

In Schools: much studio pottery of the time used muted browns, oranges and greys. The colour of this dish would have stood out.

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Stoneware, press-moulded and cut.

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