Seating Chart Maker
Random Seating Chart Maker
Set the number of rows and seats per row, enter your names, and everyone moves to a new seat one by one. You can keep certain students at the front, keep pairs apart, fix someone to a seat, and avoid last time's seats and desk mates. Flip the finished chart to the teacher's view, then print it or save it as an image.
Classroom layout
Rows (front to back)
Seats per row
24 seats · 20 people · 4 spare
Seating rules (optional)
How it works
- Tap a seat to leave it empty or to fix someone to it.
- After shuffling, tap a seat and choose Swap to move people by hand.
- The chart is kept on this device, so next time it avoids the same seats and desk mates.
Names and charts never leave this browser.
Seating chart
Enter names and press Shuffle seats. Tap a seat to leave it empty or fix someone to it.
Purpose
Seat a class or group at random in a way that feels fair, while still honouring the few rules that matter, such as a student who needs to sit near the board.
How to use
- Enter one name per line, or load a saved list.
- Choose single desks, pairs or groups of four, then set the rows and seats per row.
- Tap seats with no desk to leave them empty, and add front-row, keep-apart or fixed-seat rules if you need them.
- Press Shuffle seats, then print the chart or save it as an image.
What makes a seat change feel fair
However even a hand-made seating plan is, someone will feel the teacher put them there on purpose. Fairness comes from the process more than the result: agree the rules first, tell everyone, then shuffle on a screen the whole class can see.
Within whatever rules you set, this tool gives everyone the same chance of every seat. With as many people as seats and no rules, the chance of any name landing in any seat is exactly one in the number of seats. Turn on one-at-a-time reveal and the shuffle itself becomes a class event, with seats turned over one by one.
Use only the rules you need
Front-row seating is for a clear reason such as eyesight, hearing or concentration. Keep-apart pairs are separated from the same desk or table and from the seats beside, in front and behind, which suits two students who argue or chat through lessons.
Each extra rule narrows the shuffle, and to students it starts to look like a plan rather than a draw. When rules clash or there are too few seats to meet them all, the chart says how many were missed, so you can see which ones to drop.
How avoiding last time works
Each chart you make is saved in this browser. Next time you shuffle, it is compared with that chart, and repeats are avoided where possible: the same seat again, or the same desk or table mate. With single desks, the seats on either side count as desk mates.
Keep-apart pairs are a rule that is always met when it can be; avoiding last time is a preference. With few spare seats a repeat or two may remain, and the chart tells you how many.
Teacher view and printing
The chart starts in the students' view, facing the board. Teacher view turns it round so it matches what you see standing at the front, which helps when taking the register or learning names.
Print sends the chart alone to the printer on a white page, even if the site is in dark mode. Save image makes a picture file ready to post in a class group chat.
Examples
- Monthly classroom seat change
- Seating for group work in fours
- A printed seating plan for an exam room
- Table plans for a workshop or training day
Notes
- Every rule narrows the shuffle. If a rule cannot be met, the chart says how many were missed.
- Last time's chart is kept in this browser only, so avoiding repeat desk mates works on the device that made it.
- The same name entered twice counts as two people; add an initial to tell them apart.
FAQ
Can I keep a student at the front or in a set seat?
Yes. Names under Seat at the front sit in the first one or two rows, and tapping a seat on the chart lets you choose someone who always sits there.
Can it avoid giving someone the same desk mate again?
With Avoid last time's seats and desk mates on, it compares against the last chart saved on this device and avoids repeating seats and desk mates. When there are too few spare seats to avoid them all, it tells you how many repeats are left.
Can I adjust the result by hand?
Tap a seat, choose Swap with another seat, then tap the seat to swap with. You can swap with an empty seat too.
Where are the names stored?
Names and charts stay in this browser and are never sent to a server. Lists you put in Saved lists can be loaded in the other tools as well, such as the team maker or the pinball picker.