For oral exams shared by several classes: mixed groups, subjects that only run for a few weeks, students called one by one at their own time, and unavailable slots for students who have lessons elsewhere.
1Calendar
First week
Last week
2Students
One line per student: Name ; Class ; Group ; unavailable slots. Copy-pasting from a spreadsheet (tab-separated columns) works too. Unavailable slots (optional): Monday 17h-19h, Wednesday 14h-16h; a day on its own blocks the whole day; Thursday 16h-18h [40-45] limits it to weeks 40 to 45.
A/BA / B groups
Give each group a letter, then list the slots where all the groups with that letter are unavailable (lab work, half-class lessons…). Same syntax as for students; [A] or [B] limits it to A or B weeks. [A] / [B] also works in a student's unavailable slots and in a slot's “Weeks” column.
3Subjects
For each subject: the whole group at the same time, or students one by one (the slot is split: 17:00, 17:20, 17:40…); number of passes per group over its weeks; classes concerned (none ticked = all).
4Teachers' slots
One slot per line (⧉ to duplicate). It is used every colle week of its subject, unless you give its weeks.
TeacherSubjectDayTimeRoomWeeks
5Colloscope
Group number in each cell; i = one-by-one oral (hover the cell to see the students and their times). · free slot, grey = no colle that week.
LaTeX code of the colloscope
How is the colloscope built?
Each subject's colle weeks are split into as many periods as passes: with 4 passes over 12 weeks, each group comes about once every 3 weeks.
Only students of the classes concerned attend: in a mixed group, a subject reserved for one class only calls that class's students.
A colle is never placed on a student's unavailable slot, nor at the same time as another of their colles. For one-by-one orals, the order within the slot is chosen to respect everyone's unavailable times.
All else being equal, the group goes to the teacher it has seen least, and two colles in the same week are avoided.
If a colle cannot be placed, the tool says why (too few slots, unavailable times, clashes): add a slot or a week.
Frequently asked questions
Is my data sent over the Internet?
No. Everything is computed in your browser and saved on this device. “Save” creates a .json file to keep or share with a colleague.
How do I print one class's colloscope, or the student sheets?
Pick the class above the table (or the sheets), then “Print”: only the current view is printed, landscape for the colloscope, one sheet per student.
How do I handle A / B weeks (lab work, half-class lessons)?
Tick “Alternating A / B weeks” in the calendar, give each group a letter, then list each batch's unavailable slots,
e.g. Tuesday 14h-18h [A] for the A groups: no A group will have an oral on Tuesday afternoon of A weeks, while B groups stay available.
Week letters appear in the colloscope, the sheets and the LaTeX export.
What about a single class with fixed groups?
The classic colloscope is quicker to fill in: number of groups, subjects and teachers are enough.
When to use the multi-class version?
Mixed groups bring together students from several classes (options, languages, teaching shared between classes).
A subject only runs on some weeks (one term, or a fixed number of sessions).
Students go one at a time at their own time (20-minute language orals, for example): a 5–6 pm slot becomes 5:00, 5:20, 5:40.
Some students or groups are unavailable at certain times (labs, lessons in another class, elite sport).
Input example
Martin Lea ; MP ; 3 ; Wednesday 2pm-4pm
Durand Hugo ; PC ; 3 ; Thursday 4pm-6pm [40-45]
Nguyen Sarah ; MP ; 5 ;
Each line gives name, class, group and, if needed, forbidden slots. [40-45] limits the restriction to weeks 40 to 45; a day on its own (“Monday”) blocks the whole day. Pasting from a spreadsheet, with tab-separated columns, also works.
A/B groups
Give each group a letter (half A, half B, or alternating), then enter the slots when all groups of a letter are busy, such as half-class labs. The [A] or [B] notation limits a constraint or a teacher's slot to A or B weeks.
Reading and sharing the result
Timetable view: the group number in each cell; “i” marks an individual colle (hover to see students and times).
Groups view: each group's colles, week by week.
Student sheets: one sheet per student with their personal times, to print and hand out.
Exports: print, LaTeX and CSV for a spreadsheet or the school's online platform.
When a constraint can't be met
The tool lists the colles it couldn't place. Usual fixes: add a teacher slot, allow an extra week for the subject, narrow an over-broad restriction (“Monday” instead of “Monday 5pm-7pm” blocks the whole day), or move a student to a group with compatible constraints. Save the project (.json) before each attempt so you can go back.
For a single class with no special constraints, the simple colloscope is quicker to fill in.
Guide written and checked by Erwan Hautot · updated 30 October 2026.
