KI’s iconic Postura+ chosen for the UK’s first ‘Microsoft Flagship’ school

As the first completely new school built for around 25 years, Bertha Park High School in Perth, Scotland, is also the only school in the UK (and 1 of 17 worldwide) to be part of the Microsoft Flagship school program. The initiative engages with like-minded leaders to design and create schools with an innovative and technologically advanced learning environment for pupils.

To bring this project to life, Perth & Kinross Council, in partnership with Hub East Central Scotland, commissioned architects, NORR, while the main contractor for Bertha Park was Robertson Construction and the furniture and fitout specialist was Deanestor.

The high school is located in the new village of Bertha Park and has capacity for 1100 pupils, including 35 with additional support needs, and is part of the 'Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme'.

The school has its own auditorium, sports hall, gym, full size grass and synthetic football pitches, a multi-use games area, breakout areas, flexible learning spaces, as well as a large number of general classrooms. As well as manufacturing bespoke furniture for the project, Deanestor, specified a large number and variety of Postura+ chairs, high chairs and task chairs in order to meet the need for ergonomic seating.

The large quantity of high chairs required by the school allowed them to be specified with custom black frames at no extra cost. The polypropylene seat shells were specified in Lime Zest, Powder Blue, and Ash Grey. These colours perfectly matched the desired palette of bright and modern colours and helped to create a practical environment that’s visually stimulating.

KI's Postura+ chairs also met the project's requirements surrounding sustainability and longevity as they are 100% recyclable and have a 20-year warranty.

Ramsay McDonald, Managing Director of Deanestor Scotland said, "Bertha Park High School provides a range of different spaces to reflect collaborative learning and a more fluid approach to teaching. We needed additional seating that would complement this environment and be both ergonomic and comfortable for students. The KI Postura+ chairs successfully achieves this and contribute to what is a really outstanding school."

The school itself is flooded with natural light, and has a simple but urban exterior that’s made even more appealing by its north to south sloping roof.

The innovative and technologically advanced nature of this new-build school has also lead to it being shortlisted for a 2020 RIBA Regional Award as well as being a Regional Finalist for the 2020 Civic Trust Awards.

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