Netherlands – Studio Lancelot is challenging traditional classroom chairs with its new furniture collection.

The Dutch design studio's collection, called Active Classroom, includes four stools created for use in primary schools. Each has a different structure, encouraging children to regularly change their postures, increase muscular diversity and maintain concentration levels. By supporting different seating positions so that muscles become intentionally fatigued, children are able to experience regular but subtle activity throughout the day.

‘Each stool is designed to incorporate a minimum of four different postures, as frequent variations in alternative sitting positions increases the activity of muscles that would otherwise be left unused in conventional chairs,' explains Boris Lancelot, founder of Studio Lancelot.

Designers are creating experiences for children that foster emotional connection and development, from future furniture to Premium Play Spaces.

Young people in the UK are losing hope in their future and reducing their aspirations to reflect the current climate, according to a recent report by Censuswide for The Prince’s Trust.

The report highlights these fears, finding that more than a third of young people aged 16–25 (39%) have abandoned their aspirations for the year ahead. It also reveals that 41% of young people believe their future goals now seem ‘impossible to achieve’, rising to half (50%) of those from poorer backgrounds.

Jonathan Townsend, UK CEO of The Prince’s Trust, explains: ‘We have an aspiration gap, with young people losing hope for the future and, sadly, those from disadvantaged backgrounds being hardest hit. It is truly a responsibility for all of us to ensure the odds don’t stay stacked against these young people.’

This growing concern gives brands and businesses an opportunity to support and inspire young people in their future career. For more, discover the ways in which workplaces are rebranding recruitment for Generation Z.