Free tool

Exam seating plan generator

Add your exam rooms and the classes sitting at the same time, and get a seat for every student, with papers mixed bench by bench so neighbours are not writing the same paper. Print a door chart for each room or download the plan as a spreadsheet. Free, with no sign-up, and nothing you type leaves your browser.

Start free Request a demo

Seats up to 12 classes of 1,000 students each, across 40 rooms. Printing and downloading need no account either.

How to make a seating plan for an exam

An exam seating plan, also called an exam sitting plan or seat plan, says which student sits where in each room. To make one:

Count the students writing each paper at the same date and time.
List your rooms and their seats: benches multiplied by students per bench.
Seat each class in roll number order, mixing papers bench by bench.
Print a door chart for every room, with each student's bench and seat.

The generator below does the counting and seating for you. For the full method, with a worked example, read how to make an exam seating plan.

Make your seating plan

The example seats two classes across two rooms. Change the rooms and classes to match your exam, then press Generate.

1. Rooms2 rooms · 66 seats

Room name
Benches
Seats per bench
= 30 seats
Room name
Benches
Seats per bench
= 36 seats

Quick add:

2. Classes sitting together2 groups · 60 students

Class or paper (group A)
30 students
Prefix
Roll from
Roll to
Class or paper (group B)
30 students
Prefix
Roll from
Roll to

3. How to seat them

InterleavedMix the papers bench by bench, so the student beside each candidate is usually sitting a different paper.SequentialFill the rooms with the first group, then the next. Simple to check, but neighbours sit the same paper.

Heading on the door charts (optional)

Students seated: 60
Seats: 66
Seats spare: 6
Rooms used: 2 of 2

A · Grade 9 – Science · 30
B · Grade 10 – Mathematics · 30

No two students side by side on a bench are from the same group.

Room 101

15 benches × 2 · 30 of 30 seats used

Bench 1
Seat 1: A · 9-1Seat 2: B · 10-1
Bench 2
Seat 1: B · 10-2Seat 2: A · 9-2
Bench 3
Seat 1: A · 9-3Seat 2: B · 10-3
Bench 4
Seat 1: B · 10-4Seat 2: A · 9-4
Bench 5
Seat 1: A · 9-5Seat 2: B · 10-5
Bench 6
Seat 1: B · 10-6Seat 2: A · 9-6
Bench 7
Seat 1: A · 9-7Seat 2: B · 10-7
Bench 8
Seat 1: B · 10-8Seat 2: A · 9-8
Bench 9
Seat 1: A · 9-9Seat 2: B · 10-9
Bench 10
Seat 1: B · 10-10Seat 2: A · 9-10
Bench 11
Seat 1: A · 9-11Seat 2: B · 10-11
Bench 12
Seat 1: B · 10-12Seat 2: A · 9-12
Bench 13
Seat 1: A · 9-13Seat 2: B · 10-13
Bench 14
Seat 1: B · 10-14Seat 2: A · 9-14
Bench 15
Seat 1: A · 9-15Seat 2: B · 10-15

Room 102

12 benches × 3 · 30 of 36 seats used

Bench 1
Seat 1: B · 10-16Seat 2: A · 9-16Seat 3: B · 10-17
Bench 2
Seat 1: A · 9-17Seat 2: B · 10-18Seat 3: A · 9-18
Bench 3
Seat 1: B · 10-19Seat 2: A · 9-19Seat 3: B · 10-20
Bench 4
Seat 1: A · 9-20Seat 2: B · 10-21Seat 3: A · 9-21
Bench 5
Seat 1: B · 10-22Seat 2: A · 9-22Seat 3: B · 10-23
Bench 6
Seat 1: A · 9-23Seat 2: B · 10-24Seat 3: A · 9-24
Bench 7
Seat 1: B · 10-25Seat 2: A · 9-25Seat 3: B · 10-26
Bench 8
Seat 1: A · 9-26Seat 2: B · 10-27Seat 3: A · 9-27
Bench 9
Seat 1: B · 10-28Seat 2: A · 9-28Seat 3: B · 10-29
Bench 10
Seat 1: A · 9-29Seat 2: B · 10-30Seat 3: A · 9-30
Bench 11
Seat 1: EmptySeat 2: EmptySeat 3: Empty
Bench 12
Seat 1: EmptySeat 2: EmptySeat 3: Empty

First term examination

Room 101

30 students · 15 benches × 2 seats

A · Grade 9 – Science: 15 students (9-1 to 9-15)
B · Grade 10 – Mathematics: 15 students (10-1 to 10-15)

Bench	Seat	Roll	Group
1	1	9-1	A
1	2	10-1	B
2	1	10-2	B
2	2	9-2	A
3	1	9-3	A
3	2	10-3	B
4	1	10-4	B
4	2	9-4	A
5	1	9-5	A
5	2	10-5	B
6	1	10-6	B
6	2	9-6	A
7	1	9-7	A
7	2	10-7	B
8	1	10-8	B

Bench	Seat	Roll	Group
8	2	9-8	A
9	1	9-9	A
9	2	10-9	B
10	1	10-10	B
10	2	9-10	A
11	1	9-11	A
11	2	10-11	B
12	1	10-12	B
12	2	9-12	A
13	1	9-13	A
13	2	10-13	B
14	1	10-14	B
14	2	9-14	A
15	1	9-15	A
15	2	10-15	B

Bench layout

Bench 1
A 9-1B 10-1
Bench 2
B 10-2A 9-2
Bench 3
A 9-3B 10-3
Bench 4
B 10-4A 9-4
Bench 5
A 9-5B 10-5
Bench 6
B 10-6A 9-6
Bench 7
A 9-7B 10-7
Bench 8
B 10-8A 9-8
Bench 9
A 9-9B 10-9
Bench 10
B 10-10A 9-10
Bench 11
A 9-11B 10-11
Bench 12
B 10-12A 9-12
Bench 13
A 9-13B 10-13
Bench 14
B 10-14A 9-14
Bench 15
A 9-15B 10-15

First term examination

Room 102

30 students · 12 benches × 3 seats

A · Grade 9 – Science: 15 students (9-16 to 9-30)
B · Grade 10 – Mathematics: 15 students (10-16 to 10-30)

Bench	Seat	Roll	Group
1	1	10-16	B
1	2	9-16	A
1	3	10-17	B
2	1	9-17	A
2	2	10-18	B
2	3	9-18	A
3	1	10-19	B
3	2	9-19	A
3	3	10-20	B
4	1	9-20	A
4	2	10-21	B
4	3	9-21	A
5	1	10-22	B
5	2	9-22	A
5	3	10-23	B

Bench	Seat	Roll	Group
6	1	9-23	A
6	2	10-24	B
6	3	9-24	A
7	1	10-25	B
7	2	9-25	A
7	3	10-26	B
8	1	9-26	A
8	2	10-27	B
8	3	9-27	A
9	1	10-28	B
9	2	9-28	A
9	3	10-29	B
10	1	9-29	A
10	2	10-30	B
10	3	9-30	A

Bench layout

Bench 1
B 10-16A 9-16B 10-17
Bench 2
A 9-17B 10-18A 9-18
Bench 3
B 10-19A 9-19B 10-20
Bench 4
A 9-20B 10-21A 9-21
Bench 5
B 10-22A 9-22B 10-23
Bench 6
A 9-23B 10-24A 9-24
Bench 7
B 10-25A 9-25B 10-26
Bench 8
A 9-26B 10-27A 9-27
Bench 9
B 10-28A 9-28B 10-29
Bench 10
A 9-29B 10-30A 9-30
Bench 11
–––
Bench 12
–––

How to use the seating plan generator

Four steps, and a few minutes for a whole exam sitting.

1
Add your rooms
Give each room a name, the number of benches and how many students sit on a bench, from one to four. The seats are added up as you type.
2
Add the classes sitting together
One group for each class or paper in the same sitting, such as Grade 9 Science and Grade 10 Mathematics. Enter a roll number range with an optional prefix, or paste a list with one student per line.
3
Choose how to seat them
Interleaved mixes the groups bench by bench. Sequential fills the rooms with the first group, then the next.
4
Generate, print, download
Check the bench grid for each room, print a door chart for every room, and download a CSV to keep or to send to invigilators.

How the interleaved arrangement works

Each group is a queue of students in the order you entered them, usually roll number order. Rooms are filled in the order they are listed, bench by bench from bench 1, and seat by seat along each bench. For every seat, the generator works out whose turn it is from the bench number, the seat number and the room's place in the list. The groups alternate along a bench and the pattern flips on the next one, so with two groups on benches of two, every bench has one student from each paper.

When a group has no students left, its turns pass to the next group that still has students. Every student is still seated, in order, but from that point some neighbours may sit the same paper. The summary under the plan says in which room and at which bench this starts, so you can add a group to the sitting, give the larger class a room of its own or change the order of the rooms.

Sequential is the plain alternative: all of the first group, then all of the second. It is quicker to read on a door chart, and suits a sitting with a single paper, or rooms large enough to give each class its own.

Exam seating checklist

A few habits that make an exam sitting run smoothly, whichever way you make the plan.

Count seats against students a few days before, including anyone sitting a re-exam or supplementary paper at the same time.
Keep a few seats spare in each room for a student who has to be moved during the exam.
Seat each group in roll number order, so students and invigilators find seats quickly.
Put different papers side by side wherever you can.
Post a door chart outside every room and keep a copy in the exam office.
Give each invigilator the list for their room, with the roll numbers expected there.
Plan separately for students who need a room of their own, a reader or extra time.
File the plan with the exam records, so attendance and answer sheets can be checked against it.

Room capacity at a glance

Seats are benches multiplied by students per bench. Plan on the number you will actually seat for the exam, not the number the room holds for lessons.

Benches	1 per bench	2 per bench	3 per bench
10 benches	10 seats	20 seats	30 seats
12 benches	12 seats	24 seats	36 seats
15 benches	15 seats	30 seats	45 seats
20 benches	20 seats	40 seats	60 seats
30 benches	30 seats	60 seats	90 seats

Seating two to a bench where three share it in class leaves more space between students and makes interleaving simpler.

Do this for the whole school in SchoolEasy

In SchoolEasy, seating plans are built from your school's own exams, rooms and enrolled students. Each room is set up once with its benches and seats per bench. You pick the date and time and the exams sitting together, and students are taken in roll number order and seated interleaved or sequentially, the same way as this tool.

You assign invigilators to each room, and educators see their duties. Door chart PDFs come out for one room or for all rooms, and students see their room, bench and seat in their exam routine and on their admit card.

Rooms saved once, as benches × seats per bench
Invigilators for each room, shown to educators
Room, bench and seat on each student's admit card
Exams, marks and seating plans are on the Free plan

schooleasy.org/exams

Room 101 · 10 benches × 2 seats

First terminal · Science and Mathematics papers · Interleaved

Grade 9Grade 10

Bench 1

G9 · Roll 1G10 · Roll 1

Bench 2

G10 · Roll 2G9 · Roll 2

Bench 3

G9 · Roll 3G10 · Roll 3

Bench 4

G10 · Roll 4G9 · Roll 4

Bench 5

G9 · Roll 5G10 · Roll 5

Bench 6

G10 · Roll 6G9 · Roll 6

Bench 7

G9 · Roll 7G10 · Roll 7

Bench 8

G10 · Roll 8G9 · Roll 8

Bench 9

G9 · Roll 9G10 · Roll 9

Bench 10

G10 · Roll 10G9 · Roll 10

Frequently asked questions

Is the exam seating plan generator free?

Yes. It is free, with no account and no limit on how often you use it. The plan is made in your browser and nothing you type is sent to SchoolEasy. What you enter is remembered in this browser, so you can come back to it.

Is a sitting plan or seat plan the same as a seating plan?

Yes. Many schools call the exam seating arrangement a sitting plan or a seat plan; all three mean which student sits where in each exam room. This generator makes one for a whole sitting, with a door chart for every room.

How does interleaved seating keep papers apart?

Each seat takes the next student from the group whose turn it is, worked out from the bench number, the seat number and the room's place in the list. Groups alternate along each bench and the pattern flips from one bench to the next. With two groups on benches of two, every bench has one student from each group for as long as both groups have students left.

What happens if one class is much bigger than the other?

The smaller group runs out first. Its turns then pass to the groups that still have students, so towards the end some neighbours sit the same paper. The summary shows the room and bench where that starts. Adding a third group to the sitting, or seating the larger class in a room of its own, keeps more papers apart.

What if there are not enough seats?

The generator does not make a partial plan. It tells you how many students and seats there are and how many seats are missing, so you can add a room, add benches or seat more students on each bench.

Can I use student names instead of roll numbers?

Yes. Choose Paste a list for a group and paste one student per line, either as roll, name or as a name on its own. A column copied from a spreadsheet works. Rolls and names both appear on the door charts and in the CSV.

Can I move a student to a different seat?

Not inside the tool. The plan follows the order you enter, so to move a student, change the order of the list or of the rooms and generate again. You can also download the CSV and adjust it in a spreadsheet.

How do I print door charts?

Press Print door charts. Each room prints on its own page with the room name, the groups and roll numbers in it, a table of bench, seat, roll, name and group, and a small bench layout. Choose Save as PDF in the print dialog to keep a copy.

Seat every exam from your own records

Set up your rooms once, pick the exams sitting together, and SchoolEasy seats enrolled students and puts each seat on the admit card. Exams, marks and seating plans are on the Free plan.

Start free Request a demo

Free plan, no card needed
Set up in an afternoon
Role-based access for every account

Page updated 30 October 2026

Exam seating plan generator

How to make a seating plan for an exam

Make your seating plan

Room 101

Room 102

How to use the seating plan generator

Add your rooms

Add the classes sitting together

Choose how to seat them

Generate, print, download

How the interleaved arrangement works

Exam seating checklist

Room capacity at a glance

Do this for the whole school in SchoolEasy

Frequently asked questions

Is the exam seating plan generator free?

Is a sitting plan or seat plan the same as a seating plan?

How does interleaved seating keep papers apart?

What happens if one class is much bigger than the other?

What if there are not enough seats?

Can I use student names instead of roll numbers?

Can I move a student to a different seat?

How do I print door charts?

Related

Seat every exam from your own records