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Building a timetable that teachers can live with

A timetable with no clashes can still be a bad one. What makes the difference is how the lessons are spread.

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Sample article
Topic
Schools
Published
30 Aug 2026
Reading time
1 min
Written by
The Elimora team

Avoiding double-booked teachers is the minimum. A timetable that does only that can still put Mathematics in the first period every day, which no one enjoys and few students learn well from.

Spread a subject across the week

Give each subject different days and different times of day. A class that meets the same subject at the same hour all week has no second chance when that hour goes badly.

Keep doubles together

A double period only helps if the two periods are consecutive on the clock. Periods four and five with lunch between them are not a double.

Treat preferences as costs, not rules

A teacher who prefers mornings, or a laboratory that is free only on some days, should be weighed, not obeyed blindly. When a preference cannot be met, the schedule should say so and leave the decision to a person.

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