Joshua Godbert, from Herefordshire, is proving to be a highly accomplished designer who isn’t afraid to incorporate significant challenges into his pieces.

He’s just finished a complex oak and yew cabinet, with spalted beech shelves and drawer, with an internal arch comprising several pieces of oak that had to precisely coopered for a perfect fit.

The quality of the finished piece is all the more praiseworthy considering that Joshua came to us straight from school and has no background in woodworking.

It’s a credit to him that he has come so far in such a short period of time, and a lesson to other school-leavers to consider fine woodworking as a career option.

Joshua didn’t much fancy going onto college or university, but had always been creative and practical – studying CDT at both GCSE and A level.

That led him to enrol in a short course at the Chippendale school, which confirmed that woodworking was something that he’d like to do.

His longer-term ambition is to set up Hertfordshire Fine Furniture and make a career out of fine furniture design and making.