Workshop practice gives the basic working knowledge required to produce components and products. It educates students in the construction, function, use and application of different working tools, equipment, machines as well as the technique of manufacturing products from its raw material form.

The Downs Light Railway provides real-world needs that require real-world solutions. In the pursuit of learning, our students (young and adult) see the value in what they do and realise achievement through trial and error.

Our workshop environment is basic, but provides sufficient scope to develop and improve the following practical disciplines for metal, plastic, and wood working:

• Measurement and marking
  
• Filing
• Planing
• Drilling
• Cutting
• Grinding
• Thread cutting
• Brazing
• Welding
• Polishing
• Painting
• Varnishing

Workshop practice goes further than simply gaining practical skils. In a real-world learning environment, soft skill are developed in a variety of areas. Such areas include:

• Social interaction
  
• Hand eye coordination
• Self discipline
• Persistence
• Problem solving
  
• Ingenuity
• Creativity

Our workshop projects cover a wide range of activities from the production of track components to the servicing and repair of the Downs Light Railway's rolling stock.

Beyond the care and maintenance of the Downs Light Railway, workshop projects can also provide a way of educating students in new technologies and unleashing their creativity through applied learning.