An exam timetable template lists every paper in the exam period, one row per paper: the date, start and end time, class, subject, venue and invigilator. Build it as a table with those columns, check it for clashes, and print it for students and staff. The free exam timetable generator does the layout for you and exports a PDF to print or an Excel file to edit.
The columns your timetable needs
Column | Example | Why it's there |
|---|---|---|
Date and day | Mon 8 Mar | Students check by day |
Time | 9:00-10:30 | Start and end, not only the start |
Class | SS 2 | One timetable can cover several classes |
Subject and paper | Biology Paper 1 (Objective) | Objective and theory are often on different days |
Duration | 1 hr 30 min | Invigilators time the paper from this |
Venue | Hall A / ICT Lab | Essential when CBT papers run in the computer lab |
Invigilator | Mr Adebayo | Staff see their own duties |
Put the school name, the exam (for example "Second Term Examination") and the session at the top, and the rules for candidates (arrival time, what to bring) at the bottom.
A worked example
Date | Time | Class | Subject and paper | Venue | Invigilator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon 8 Mar | 9:00-10:30 | SS 2 | Mathematics (Theory) | Hall A | Mr Adebayo |
Mon 8 Mar | 9:00-10:00 | JSS 3 | Basic Science (CBT) | ICT Lab | Mrs Eze |
Mon 8 Mar | 11:00-12:00 | SS 2 | Biology Paper 1 (CBT) | ICT Lab | Mrs Eze |
Tue 9 Mar | 9:00-11:00 | SS 2 | English Language (Essay) | Hall A | Mr Musa |
Notice the lab is used by one class at a time, and Mrs Eze's two CBT sessions don't overlap.
Five rules that prevent clashes
- One paper per class per time slot. Sort the table by class, then by date and time: two rows with the same class, date and time is a clash.
- One venue per invigilator per slot. Sort by invigilator and check the same way.
- Venue capacity. A hall or lab can't hold more candidates than it seats. For CBT, that means computers that work, not chairs.
- Space out heavy papers. Avoid two long theory papers for the same class on the same day where you can.
- Leave a gap between sessions in the computer lab for the next group to log in and for a machine that needs restarting.
[BUILD: a clash checker that flags a class, invigilator or venue booked twice in the same slot, with the rules above as the static fallback]
Make it with the free generator
The exam timetable generator needs no signup and runs in your browser:
- Enter the exam name, class or session and dates.
- Add each paper with its date, time, duration, venue and invigilator.
- Download it as a PDF to print, or as Excel to edit in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.
When papers are on computer
If some of your papers run as CBT, the timetable is only half the work: each lab session needs an exam ready to open at its start time. In ExamHall Examiner you can set each paper's duration so it submits itself when time runs out, run it on the lab's local network with the Offline CBT App if the internet is unreliable, and get objective scores as each student submits. Activating an exam costs 1 credit; see pricing.