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Anita and Emile Woolf established Maxability in 2009 with the aim of enhancing the lives of disabled adults in London’s Borough of Barnet. Maxability’s mission is to enable participants to realise and develop their creative potential through its art and ceramic classes.

Anita and Vinicius have been doing remarkable work with our clients, who have learning disability, autism and other complex needs such as visual and hearing impairment . . . they enjoy and love attending pottery classes. This has benefited their stimulation, social activities, qualitative work and most important, they are eager and look forward to going to pottery every week. 

Laura Rakovica, Manager, Dana Home Care

Classes for Adults with Physical Disabilities


Classes for adults with physical disabilities take place on Tuesdays from 10am to 4pm at Maxability’s centre at Flightways. Experienced helpers are available to assist with British Sign Language for deaf participants. Please inform us of your disability when booking. If you have your own personal carer you are welcome to bring them with you to the class.

The classes are led by our expert ceramics teacher and technician Vinicius Les. The cost per person is £12.50 for a 2-hour session. These workshops are subsidised by sales of ceramics, our fundraising concerts, team-building workshops and the generosity of private donations.

Anita and Vinicius have worked with us to create a programme that will benefit our students for life. They have taught our students many transferable skills, working on fine motor and gross motor use whilst creating some wonderful pieces. 

Karen Smith, Assistant Principal, Langdon College

To request a place in one of our classes, please fill in our enrolment form.

Classes for Adults with Learning Disabilities

Classes for adults with learning disabilities take place on Wednesdays from 10am to 4pm, and students are accompanied by their own specialist carers.

The classes are led by our expert ceramics teacher Vinicius Les. The National Lottery awarded Maxability a grant to promote and subsidise this course. Therefore, we have been able to reduce the prices of these classes. The cost per person is £15 for a two-hour session. The total price for the ten-week course is £150.

The classes accommodate students who require additional assistance throughout the class. Students are encouraged to keep the work they create during these sessions.

There are such lovely people at Maxability, and they help my brother by explaining things to him. He has communication problems and no knowledge of everyday things. But going to Maxability helps him a lot.

Maxability User, June 2019

To request a place in one of our classes, please fill in our enrolment form.

General Admission Classes


Maxability also offers general admission classes for the wider community, irrespective of age or ability. These classes are particularly popular with retired people. Our studio serves as an ideal environment, with its warm and friendly atmosphere, in which latent creativity may be explored and developed. These classes are also taught by our expert ceramicist Vinicius Les, and are offered once per week on Thursdays from 10 am to 4 pm, at a cost of £20 per person for a 2-hour session.

Evening and weekend classes are now being arranged, for which purpose a new teacher is being recruited.

The people we support . . . enjoy the creative environment where they participate and concentrate throughout the session as well as there being a therapeutic element. 

Natalie Aarons, Service Manager, Kisharon

These classes help to subsidise the workshops offered to adults with disabilities. They represent one of several ways in which the money you pay to Maxability can be treated as a donation. Kindly fill in a Gift Aid Form which, if you are a UK taxpayer, will allow Maxability to claim an additional 25p for every pound you donate (at no cost to you).

To request a place in one of our classes, please fill in our enrolment form.

About Us

Maxability was officially registered by Anita and Emile as a charity in 2015 (No. 1162002). Its formation was inspired by Carl Woolf, their son, who is deaf and physically disabled. To support him, and others with disabilities, they set up ceramics, pottery, art and photography classes so that they can discover and develop their latent talents and artistic abilities.

The Maxability classes take place in a welcoming and supportive atmosphere at Flightways in Barnet, North London.