Who gets the job of working out school timetables or is it done by a computer programme?
I’ve spent many hours slaving over draft timetables. Much of the work is done by computer but there’s still a great deal of human effort needed. Teachers have to try to program various constraints into the system, e.g. it’s not much use if the computer puts a chemistry lesson into a room without fume cupboards or bunsen burners. Similarly, a maths class of 30 pupils won’t fit into a small study area designed to hold a group of 10 sixth-formers. The first time I ever got involved with timetabling was when a colleague asked me to check his work (done with computer assistance). One problem had arisen because the computer insisted that every group of pupils had to be in a ‘room’. In order to accommodate this, pupils on the sports field had to be shown in a (fictitious) Room 41. Unfortunately, the computer then assumed that, if there were no games lessons taking place, Room 41 was free for other uses. This had resulted in several English lessons being timetabled to take place on the sports
