Make something.
Find a way in.
Hands-on design and engineering for schools, colleges and youth groups. Start with a short activity, or plan a longer programme with us.
Photo: a Project Zero youth session, not a prison
for schools
Five ways in.
Start with a talk, climb to digital fabrication. Each step stands alone, or joins into a programme.
-
01Taster
Speaker session
Make a bamboo speaker for your phone: a first, hands-on step into design.
Up to 30 · 1–2 hours
-
02Accessible learning
Balance bike build
Teams build a real bamboo balance bike with hand tools and drawings.
Teams of 3–5, up to 30 · 3–6 hours
-
03Business skills
Enterprise
Create, cost, brand and pitch a bike business around a real product.
Up to 30 · 5 hours
-
04STEM
E-bike build
Build and test electric drivetrains: motors, batteries, sensors and controllers.
Teams of 4, up to 16 · 1–2 days
-
05Future-ready
AI and 3D printing
Design a real bike part with AI and CAD, then 3D print it.
Teams, up to 30 · 1–2 days
Typical group sizes and times; we agree the format and price with you
learning
What making
develops.
Engineering
Materials
Structures
Tools
Design
Manufacture
Future skills
STEM
Sustainability
Regenerative materials
3D printing
Micro-manufacturing
Personal development
Confidence
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Achievement
Tech
Progression
Accredited learning
OCN London Level 2
Peer mentoring
No experience needed.
Participants come to build a bike. Along the way, they build much more.
materials
Why bamboo? Why bikes?
Bamboo and bicycles give us an accessible way into engineering, design, sustainability and mobility.
Bamboo
Regenerative: grown, not mined. Forgiving and easy to work with.
Design + digital making
Learning CAD, AI design tools and 3D printing.
Bikes
Simple to grasp, complex enough to teach real engineering.
Mobility
A bike can connect people with training, work and community.
The bike is the vehicle. The learning, and where it can take you, is much bigger.
prevention
Prevention through making.
For young people with learning difficulties, or bad experiences of school.
Bite-size
Short, hands-on sessions with something to show.
Staged
Clear steps from a first taster towards accredited learning.
Trusted
Can be led by local leaders and mentors they already know.
What young people enjoyed most
“Building the bike.”
“Making it.”
“Learning how to assemble.”
Young people at a Project Zero session, Walthamstow, February 2026
Photo: a Project Zero youth session, not a prison
prevention
Prevention in London.
Two boroughs: a pathway we proposed, and a scheme in development.
Camden
Euston Skills
Centre: steps 3–5
Waltham Forest
2nd
highest permanent exclusion rate in London: Camden, 2024/25.
Camden: a pathway we proposed
Proposed in July 2026; not yet commissioned.
PRU or school · 1.5 hours
A bamboo speaker taster
Youth centre · 3 hours
Build a balance bike with familiar adults
Skills Centre · a visit
Tour the workshop, try a short task
Skills Centre · one day
Build a bamboo e-bike
Skills Centre · one day
3D printing and design, then onto courses
Waltham Forest
Now
Project Zero: bike and e-bike builds, enterprise days, and a small e-bike fleet to come.
In development, with Waltham Forest Council
Local SMEs, accredited courses (OCN Level 2) and Kickstart-style paid placements.
Exclusions: DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions, 2024/25 · Map: ONS, OGL v3.0; contains OS data © Crown copyright 2024
Two boroughs: a pathway we proposed, and a scheme in development.
highest permanent exclusion rate in London: Camden, 2024/25.
Camden: a pathway we proposed
Proposed in July 2026; not yet commissioned.
- 1
PRU or school · 1.5 hours
A bamboo speaker taster - 2
Youth centre · 3 hours
Build a balance bike with familiar adults - 3
Euston Skills Centre · a visit
Tour the workshop, try a short task - 4
Euston Skills Centre · one day
Build a bamboo e-bike - 5
Euston Skills Centre · one day
3D printing and design, then onto courses
Waltham Forest
Now
Project Zero: bike and e-bike builds, enterprise days, and a small e-bike fleet to come.In development, with Waltham Forest Council
Local SMEs, accredited courses (OCN Level 2) and Kickstart-style paid placements.Exclusions: DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions, 2024/25 · Map: ONS, OGL v3.0; contains OS data © Crown copyright 2024
for schools
Flexible delivery around the school timetable.
| School format | Typical time | Length | Typical use | Best suited programme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesson / period | 45–60 mins | Curriculum lesson / introduction | Enterprise · Make & take | |
| Double lesson | 60–90 mins | Practical STEM activity | Make & take · Enterprise | |
| Half day | 2.5–3 hrs | Enrichment / targeted cohort | Balance bike · E-bike | |
| Full / drop-down day | 5 hrs | STEM / enterprise / enrichment day | Balance bike · E-bike · AI & 3D printing | |
| Multi-day programme | 2–5 days | Deeper skills / progression | AI & 3D printing · E-bike |
From a single lesson to a full STEM day or intensive programme.
Bar length shows contact time, from 45 minutes to 5 days; a full day is 5 hours
self-delivery
Low-cost self-delivery,
with our support.
Our instructor app gives trained local staff everything to run each session.
Every session ready
Lesson plans, slides, films and workbooks.
Easy to teach from
Instructors log in on a laptop or phone and teach each session step by step.
Records built in
Cohorts, learner forms and safety checks.
Why it costs less
Local staff deliver it, not our instructors.
Instructor dashboard
Lesson guide
Screens: our instructor app, OCN Level 2 course, 2026; no learner data; not a prison photo
experience
In schools since 2014.
2014
working with schools since
Approved archive record, verified 27 Aug 2026
22
schools, colleges and universities on record
13 universities · 9 schools and colleges
“Crafting bamboo bicycles goes beyond the workshop; it’s a journey of innovation, environmental responsibility, and the integration of STEM principles.”
Nick Mills, Head of Design, Bradfield College · D&T Practice, Jan 2024
Learning, not credits. School and youth activities build practical skills through making. They do not include OCN credits.
Safeguarding. Safeguarding policy in place. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is fully DBS-checked and cleared for prison work.
for schools
Book a discovery call.
Build bikes. Build skills. Build futures.
Tell us your setting, your learners and the activity you are interested in. We’ll plan the rest with you.
Photo: hands at work at a Project Zero youth session, not a prison
watch the balance bike build, start to finish
Watch the balance-bike build process. For a school or youth activity, agree the tasks, supervision and intended build stage with the delivery team. The tutorial does not establish suitability for riding or OCN credits.