Excellent Furniture for Primary School Children by Simon Dennehy

With all the competition going on in the outside world to do their best, the only ones who are being affected is our kids. With all the heavy books that they are burdened with and also long studying hours that they have at home is putting more and strain on them. Irish designer Simon Dennehy has come up with an excellent furniture for primary school children, who takes care of their correct posture, chair height. To have a healthy back, posture is very important and would reduce problems like poor digestion, nausea, headaches and bad circulation, which arises because of incorrect posture.

perch ergonomic school furniture

perch ergonomic school furniture


Perch is the result of a two year research MA in Industrial Design with the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland by Simon Dennehy. The results show that it is impractical to design a chair for primary school students, without considering the desk as an item of equal importance. The main objective of the project is to encourage students to sit and work in a much higher position.

perch ergonomic school furniture

perch ergonomic school furniture

The seat and backrest benefit from ventilated slots throughout. This reduces weight, increases user comfort and creates a visually stimulating aesthetic for the students of today. The chair’s simple yet effective height mechanism prevents accidental release and requires the student to stand to adjust the height. The chair’s legs protrude from back, while incorporating a footrest. This allows the student complete freedom of leg movement. The front wings at either side of the seat are completely flexible. This patented design prevents build up of pressure under the student’s legs, while the resistive feedback encourage the students to continually move their legs playfully, increasing blood flow and muscle use.

perch ergonomic school furniture

The desk profile incorporates an elbow rest, where students can perch themselves during task work. This decreases load on their mid-sections. The profile, from co-extruded hollow-section polycarbonate, incorporates a soft rubberised working surface (in orange). This provides a warm tactile surface that can resist abuse, prevent books from slipping, and can be easily cleaned. A storage trough, at the rear of the desk, includes a book ledge for when students are copying from text books. An accessories tray hooks onto the desk edge and is replaceable with a Lego base, or arts and crafts palette. This “hot-swap” system is developable, and makes task change-over much faster, and tidier.

perch ergonomic school furniture

perch ergonomic school furniture

Schools furniture among the majority of schools, internationally, is severely damaging to students’ health and, as a direct result, they can expect to develop serious disorders and illnesses in later life. The research carried out shows conclusively that school children, in particular, sit inappropriately during their primary school years, as a result of the failings of the furniture’s design.

Schools are the offices for children. They spend a large amount of their youth attending both primary and secondary schools, and during that time, are likely to be sitting at a desk. A drastic change to the standards, which dictate measurements for furniture in schools, is required.

It is hoped that this project will encourage more researchers, designers and ergonomists to peruse the subject matter so that, in years to come, the quality and understanding of furniture requirements for students will radically improve, to the benefit of the students, teachers, education and health system.

Designer : Simon Dennehy



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9 thoughts on “Excellent Furniture for Primary School Children by Simon Dennehy

  1. This is amazing.

    Looked through the website. Sounds like there was some good solid research behind the designs. Haven’t seen the flexible seat design before. Could be interesting for outside the school industry too!
    Any hopes to bring this to market?

  2. Hello,

    I'm interested in your Tuvie chair for children and in the ergonomic table because my son has "escoliosis". Where can I by them and which is the price?

    Thank you very much for your kind information,

    Mar Sauret

  3. pls i love the chair for my school .is it ideal for school.
    ? do you sell wholesale and how much.
    ? kindly get back to me as soon as posible.thanks

  4. extremely exciting. A great way to develop a good posture and keep back pain at ba moreso for kids. Are these chairs available for export to the middle east. I am based in Dubai

  5. Much has been made of having a well-designed classroom these days, and with good reason. A number of studies have shown that a poorly laid out classroom can cause problems for both the students and the teacher. Students find themselves more easily distracted and less engaged, and teachers have a hard time finding needed materials and keeping the mountains of paperwork they need manageable and under control. Most of us do not have control over which classroom we are assigned. However, we can all find ways to make the best use of the space we have. As discussed in my last few blogs, teacher centered learning is becoming less fashionable while student cooperative learning is thriving. Additionally, teachers need to take into account various student learning styles and comfort levels to maximize classroom success. Here are some helpful hints towards these goals. Flexible seating arrangements using flexible furniture come in handy. Sitting students in a U for class discussions has been found to be more effective than in rows. This also leads to better all around eye contact and a feeling of equality between students. DigitalBuyer is an office products retailer specializing in fireproof file cabinets & safes, office furniture, industrial materials handling, office equipment, and commercial products. They proudly serve government, education, corporate, and end-users with everyday low prices and personalized service. They provide School Chairs for every grade-level, including elementary, middle, and high school student chairs. Also featuring combination chair desks, and science lab stools.

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