17 circle, semicircle and fishbowl seating arrangements
The bar is the front of the room. Each box is a desk, and the mark beside it is the chair.
Press Seat my class like this under any plan. The chart at the top of the page takes that shape and keeps your names.
Full circles 5
Circle of 1212 seats
About 5 across and 5 deep. The smallest ring here, for a reading group or half a class.
Circle of 2020 seats
About 8 across and 8 deep. The 4 desks nearest the board face away from it.
Circle of 2424 seats
About 9 across and 9 deep, close to the single U of 24. 5 desks face away from the board.
Circle of 3030 seats
About 12 across and 11 deep: a whole class in one ring, with about 10 desk-widths of floor inside.
Circle of 3636 seats
About 13 across and 13 deep, the largest plan here. The fishbowl of 36 needs only 9 by 9.
Semicircles, open to the board 4
Semicircle of 1414 seats
About 10 across and 5 deep. One curved row open to the board, so nobody has their back to it.
Semicircle of 2020 seats
About 14 across and 7 deep. One curve gets wide fast, so a bigger class sits in 2 curved rows.
Double semicircle of 2626 seats
About 12 across and 6 deep: 16 desks in the outer curve, 10 in the inner, a walkway between them.
Double semicircle of 3232 seats
About 14 across and 7 deep, the same floor as the semicircle of 20: 20 desks outside and 12 inside.
Fishbowls with an inner circle 4
Fishbowl of 2424 seats
About 7 across and 6 deep: 6 desks pushed together inside a ring of 18. 4 rounds put everyone inside.
Fishbowl of 2828 seats
About 8 across and 8 deep, the same floor as the circle of 20: 8 inside and 20 outside.
Fishbowl of 30 with a way in30 seats
About 10 across and 10 deep: 8 inside, 22 outside, and a gap at the back for students trading places.
Fishbowl of 3636 seats
About 9 across and 9 deep: 12 inside, 24 outside, under half the floor of the circle of 36.
Open circles and 2 circles at once 4
Open circle of 2020 seats
About 10 across and 9 deep. The arc nearest the board is left out, so nobody faces away from it.
Open circle of 2323 seats
About 11 across and 10 deep. For an odd class: 5 desks along the back make the total odd.
Open circle of 2828 seats
About 12 across and 12 deep. A whole-class circle without the 6 desks that would face away from the board.
2 circles of 14 side by side28 seats
About 13 across and 5 deep in all: 2 rings and a walkway, so 2 discussions run at once.
How this list was compiled: Arrangements and desk plans drawn for this site. A circle is sketched on a grid of desk-sized squares as a box with its corners cut off, every desk facing the middle. Every plan was checked on 2026-09-19: the rows of a plan are the same length, no 2 desks share a square, the desks add up to the seat count given, and the 2 rings of a fishbowl or a double semicircle never touch. The rule of thumb on the page (a ring of desks is about a third as wide inside as it has desks) is the circumference of a circle divided by pi, worked out twice. Widths and depths are counts of squares. No measurements, desk sizes or research findings are quoted. Licence: own work
How it works
A circular seating arrangement puts every desk on one ring facing the middle, so nobody sits behind anyone else. These 17 plans seat 12 to 36: full circles, semicircles open to the board, fishbowls and open circles.
Read the full guide
How much floor a circle takes
The floor inside a ring is about a third as many desk-widths across as the ring has desks: 24 desks leave about 8, and 30 leave about 10. A semicircle is twice as wide for the same desks, so past 20 it becomes 2 curved rows.
Seat your class in the circle
Paste your class onto the chart and the ring resizes: up to 12 names get the circle of 12, 13 to 20 the circle of 20, then 24, 30 and 36. Spare seats are left at the back of the ring. For a semicircle, a fishbowl or an open circle, press Seat my class like this under that plan below.
Students set at the front of a full circle get the desks nearest the board, which face away from it. A semicircle avoids that.
Desks next to each other around the ring touch on the chart, so a kept-apart pair never sits side by side.
Questions and answers
What is a circle seating arrangement?
Desks or chairs set in one ring with everyone facing the middle, so there is no front row and no back row. Teachers use it for class meetings, discussions and Socratic seminars. The desks nearest the board face away from it.
When should I use a semi circle seating arrangement?
When the lesson still needs the board. A semicircle opens to the front, so nobody sits with their back to it. Here the semicircle of 20 is 14 desks across, and the double semicircle of 32 fits the same floor.
What is a fishbowl seating arrangement?
A small inner circle holds the discussion while an outer circle listens and takes notes, then students trade places. Keep the inner circle to a quarter or a third of the class. The random group generator makes groups that size, one for each round.
How many students can sit in a circle?
The plans here seat 12 to 36. One ring of 30 is about 12 desks across and 11 deep. The fishbowl of 30 takes 10 by 10, and a class of 28 split into 2 circles of 14 takes 13 by 5.