How it works
This classroom seating chart generator seats your class at random in rows, pods of 4 or a U-shape. Add pairs to keep apart and students who need the front, and every shuffle honors them. Lock the seats you like, swap the rest by hand, then print one landscape page or save a CSV or an image. Names stay in this browser.
Read the full guide
How the shuffle follows your rules
As a seating chart randomizer it does more than mix names. Open Keep students apart or at the front, pick two students and press Keep apart. Seats count as next to each other when they touch, diagonals included, so a kept-apart pair is not seated side by side, one behind the other, or corner to corner. In pods the rule means not in the same pod. Front-row students go to row 1, the first row of pods, or the two seats nearest the board on each side of the U. When the two kinds of rule collide, keeping students apart wins.
Rows, pods or a U-shape
Rows go up to 8 rows of 10 seats. Pods of 4 go up to 5 rows of 5 pods. The U-shape has two sides and a back row, up to 12 seats each. Treat the tool as a classroom seating arrangement generator: switch the layout and the same class moves into it at once, in the same order, so you can compare charts before you move any furniture. Spare seats are left at the back.
Locks, swaps and what is kept
Select a seat and press Lock seat, and that student stays through every shuffle. A locked empty seat stays empty, which is how you mark a broken desk or a gap by the door. Select one seat and then another to swap them, or drag one onto the other. Undo shuffle brings back the previous chart. Each class keeps its own room, chart and locks in this browser. Type a new student into any empty seat, or press Add a seat, and nobody else moves.
- Type your class once and the random group generator opens with the same names and the same keep-apart pairs.
- To create classroom seating chart printouts for a substitute, print the chart or press Save as a picture and add the picture to your sub plans.
- Seat first, shuffle second. Lock the students whose seats are decided by sight, hearing or a support plan, then shuffle everyone else.
- Save as a spreadsheet (CSV) gives a file laid out like the room, front at the top, ready for your notes.
- Reshuffle on a set date, such as the first Monday of the month, so a move never singles anyone out.
Questions and answers
How do I create a classroom seating chart for a new class?
Paste the names onto the chart, one per line or with commas, or tap a seat and type. The tool draws a room that fits and seats everyone at once. Over the chart, the minus and plus set rows and seats per row, and a press on Teacher moves the desk. Add your rules, press Shuffle seats, then Print the chart.
Is there a free classroom seating chart template I can print?
The chart is the template. Set the layout and size to match your room and print: you get one landscape page on Letter or A4, with the front of the room and the teacher's desk marked. For a blank classroom seating plan template, with empty boxes to fill in by hand, press Print a blank chart under the chart.
What are the seating arrangement ideas classroom teachers use most?
Three cover most lessons, and all three are built in: rows facing the board for tests and direct teaching, pods of 4 for group work and shared supplies, and a U-shape for discussion, with the middle left open so you can reach every desk. Nothing says you must keep one all year: reseat the same class in a new layout whenever the work changes. Circles and chevrons are not drawn here yet.
Are student names saved or sent anywhere?
Names stay in this browser. This is a seating chart maker classroom teachers can use without an account. Up to 12 classes of up to 80 names each are kept on this device, with their rules and charts, and nothing is sent to us. On a shared computer, open Saved classes and press Delete this class when you finish.
Why does the banner say a rule could not be met?
Some sets of rules have no answer. A student kept apart from many classmates runs out of safe seats in a full room, and there are only as many front seats as the layout has: 4 in a U-shape. Remove a rule, unlock a seat, or make the room larger so the shuffle can use the spare seats.