Random seating chart generator

A fresh arrangement in one click, with the rules that matter still intact. Random enough that nobody argues with it, controlled enough that it does not undo your classroom management.

Shuffle the class Open a 24-desk paired template

Build it here, on this page

Opens the Classroom for 24, desks in pairs layout in the editor. Nothing is downloaded until you press the button.

Free, and no account needed.

Why random beats designed, sometimes

A chart you designed invites negotiation. Students can tell when a placement is a judgment about them, and the conversation that follows costs more than the seating problem was worth.

A shuffle is different. Nobody chose it, it will change again in a few weeks, and the same rule applied to everyone. It also breaks up the clusters that form on their own, which is usually the reason you wanted a new chart in the first place.

Random with guardrails

Pure randomness is easy and occasionally terrible: it will happily put your two most disruptive students side by side in the back corner. The shuffle here runs inside your constraints instead.

Keep-apart pairs stay apart. Students who need the front row get the front row. Anyone you pinned to a seat stays pinned. Everything else moves.

Keep apart pairs are never seated together
Front row students are placed in the rows nearest the board
Pinned students do not move, everyone else is reshuffled

Shuffle again until it looks right

Each run is independent, so if an arrangement looks wrong for reasons you had not written down, run it again. That is often the fastest way to discover a rule you were carrying implicitly, and then you can add it.

When you find one you like, drag the two or three seats you want to adjust and print it.

Pairs, rows or groups of four

The shuffle works on whatever layout is on the canvas. Twenty-four desks in pairs is the usual starting point for a class where you want talk partners to change regularly. Rows work better for tests and for classes that need less side conversation.

Change the layout and shuffle again: the assignment adapts to the furniture in front of it.

Free to shuffle, paid to keep

Shuffling costs nothing and needs no account, so you can use it for a single lesson and never sign up. A teacher subscription at 3.99 USD a month saves each class as its own chart, removes the export watermark, and means next term starts from last term's list instead of a blank page.

Questions people ask

Is the shuffle actually random?

Yes, within your constraints. Seats that are not fixed by a rule or a pin are assigned randomly on each run, so two runs give different arrangements.

Can I stop two students from being seated together in a random chart?

Yes. A keep apart rule holds through every shuffle. That is the main reason to use this instead of drawing names out of a hat.

Can I keep some students in place and shuffle the rest?

Yes. Pin the students who should not move, then run the shuffle, and everyone else is rearranged around them.

How often should I shuffle?

Every four to six weeks suits most classes. More often than that and students never settle, less often and the arrangement stops doing any work.

Does a random chart work for exams?

It helps, especially in rows with one student per desk. Add keep apart rules for the pairs you would rather separate and shuffle the morning of the exam.