Chair and Table Sizes in Schools | VS

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Chair and Table Sizes in Schools | VS

A boy learns on padded mats for floor-level learning from the FloorFriends series by VS.

Sit well  
at school

You can't do without sitting. Sitting is one of the basic human postures - and an important one at that. We can relax while sitting, but we can also concentrate well and are capable of peak mental performance. An important prerequisite for learning.

This posture has fallen into disrepute because we overdo it. Today, we sit far too much and we sit too statically. Even children suffer health problems from sitting too much and are unable to develop as they should. This applies to motor skills as well as social behaviour and cognitive performance.

A good school workplace can prevent this. This is important:

  • The chair and table must be the right size.
  • The chair should promote ergonomically good and dynamic sitting.
  • The workstation should be designed in such a way that frequent changes of posture and movement are encouraged.
Students‘ chairs for all ages Level by VS with adjustable footrest at Shift+ students’ desks
Two boys are sitting on different sized VS chairs Stakki
A young man sits sideways on a yellow JUMPER Air swivel chair by VS
A boy is sitting on the backrest of a JUMPER Ply Four wooden chair by VS
A boy sits on a JUMPER Air Level students' chair with adjustable footrest

Which seat size?

Chairs and desks are like shirts and trousers: the right size is crucial for a good fit. What ready-made sizes are for clothing, size classes are for school furniture.  They are set out in DIN EN 1729, ‘Furniture - Chairs and tables for educational institutions’.

The standard distinguishes between seven size classes, which are colour-coded. The decisive factor is the height of the pupil. More precisely: the length of the lower leg, measured from the heel to the hollow of the knee. The seat height is derived from this.

In inter-year groups, the level model of our student chairs helps to ensure that all children sit ergonomically at the same table height.

Allocation of size classes for school chairs according to DIN EN 1729 
 

Size classes01234567
Colourwhiteorangevioletyellowredgreenbluebrown
Lower leg length20–25 cm25–28 cm28–31,5 cm31,5–35,5 cm35,5–40,5 cm40,5–43,5 cm43,5–48,5 cm48,5 + cm
Body height80–95 cm83–116 cm108–212 cm119–142 cm133–159 cm146–176,5 cm159–188 cm174–207 cm
Seat height21 +/- 10 cm26 +/- 10 cm31 +/- 10 cm35 +/- 10 cm38 +/- 10 cm43 +/- 10 cm46 +/- 10 cm51 +/- 10 cm
Schematic of available sizes for the Panto chair by VS from small to large

A boy sitting at a table and writing looks up and smiles at the camera

Customise chair and table

The seat height is correct when the pelvis is slightly above the knees and the feet are flat. The pelvis is then erect and the spine can move freely. The thighs rest loosely on the seat. The angle between the thighs and torso is slightly open, allowing the blood to circulate freely.

The appropriate table height is derived from the sitting position: If the forearms are placed on the table top, the elbows should be two to three centimetres below the edge of the table.

Size of the seat shell


However, the seat height is only one dimension. The width and depth of the seat shell as well as the height and radius of curvature of the backrest are also decisive. Minimum requirements are also specified in DIN EN 1729. 

VS goes beyond these minimum requirements with its student chairs. Thanks to the large selection of seat shells - S, M, L and XL - the chairs can be customised to individual body dimensions.

 
A boy sits astride a yellow JUMPER Air school chair by VS with a tablet in his hands.

Dynamic seating

The best sitting posture is always the closest one. Ergonomically recommended chairs are therefore not just the right size. They also support dynamic sitting, in which the sitting posture changes constantly and intuitively. This ranges from barely perceptible micro-movements to visible shifts in body weight, for example when changing from the rear resting posture on the chair to the front working posture.

 
A man bends to the right on a yellow JUMPER Air Move by VS, the seat shell tilts to the side as well

3D rocking function

To support dynamic sitting, the chair needs a freely movable seat surface that can tilt forwards, backwards and sideways - as is the case with the patented 3D rocking function from VS. This allows the seat to follow the many small movements of the pelvis, which has a positive effect on the functional unit of pelvis, legs, spine, shoulders and head. This benefits health as well as alertness and performance.

A teacher sits on the JUMPER upholstered swivel chair by VS in the teachers' room

Back-friendly furniture for teachers

‘Like no other part of our body, the back is dependent on us constantly moving it,’ says movement scientist Dr Breithecker.

Together with him, we have therefore developed furniture that is tailored to the needs of teachers: Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting and thus relieve and activate the back at the same time; and desks that invite people to work standing up or sitting down. 

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More on the topic Ergonomics at school
More on the topic Ergonomics at school

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