Random Group Generator for Teachers
A free random group generator for teachers: paste your class list, choose either how many children per group or how many groups you want, and get balanced groups instantly. Refreshing the page keeps the same groups, so children already walking to a table are not sent somewhere else.
- No signup
- Nothing to install
- Free forever
Paste your class list to begin
One name per line, in the box below. It stays on this device.
How teachers use a random group generator
Choosing groups yourself takes time you do not have, and children read every decision you make. A random generator on the board removes the negotiation entirely: the groups are what the screen says, and the conversation moves straight on to the work.
It is also the quickest way to break up the same four children who always sit together. Over a term, random regrouping quietly widens who talks to whom — which does more for classroom culture than most deliberate seating plans.
- Talk partners and response partners for a single lesson
- Table groups for a carousel or rotation
- Teams for a quiz, a sports lesson or a class competition
- Practical science groups, sized to the equipment you actually have
- Mixed groups for a project running over several weeks
Size or number, and why the difference matters
Some tasks are limited by equipment: six microscopes means six groups, however many children are in the room. Others are limited by the task: paired talk needs twos, a discussion needs fours. So you can set either — the number of groups, or the number of children in each — and the generator works out the rest.
Remainders are handled sensibly. A class of 27 in groups of four gives seven groups of roughly equal size, not six fours and a lonely three. Nobody ends up in a group on their own unless the numbers make it unavoidable.
The groups stay put
This is the detail that matters most on a real classroom board. Most online group makers reshuffle every time the page reloads, which means an accidental refresh — or a whiteboard that goes to sleep — sends half the class to the wrong table mid-move.
Here the groups are generated from a seed that is kept with the page, so the same class list gives the same groups until you deliberately press shuffle. Reload as many times as you like; the answer does not change.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get my class list in?
Paste it into the box, one name per line. Any list copied from a register, a spreadsheet column or a document will paste straight in. Your list is remembered on that device, so you only have to do it once.
Are my pupils' names sent anywhere?
No. The names stay in your browser and are stored only on the device you typed them on. There is no account and no server to send them to — closing the tab and clearing the list removes them completely.
Can I choose the number of groups instead of the group size?
Yes. Switch between "children per group" and "number of groups" — useful when the equipment decides the answer, such as five laptops or six tables.
What happens if my class does not divide evenly?
The extra children are spread across the groups rather than piled into one, so group sizes stay within one of each other. A class of 30 in groups of four becomes eight groups of three or four, not seven fours and a two.
Will refreshing the page give me different groups?
No — and that is deliberate. Groups only change when you press shuffle, so a stray reload while children are moving will not send them to a different table.