Senior School Grade 10 Sample Timetable | How to Create a Senior School Grade 10 Timetable (Step-by-Step Guide)

Introduction

Creating a Senior School Grade 10 timetable under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is a complex but manageable task when guided by clear policy and structured planning. Unlike junior secondary, senior school timetabling must balance core subjects, pathway electives, support subjects, learner well-being, and resource constraints.

This guide provides a step-by-step procedure for creating a Senior School Grade 10 timetable for a school offering all three pathways:

• STEM
• Social Sciences
• Arts and Sports Sciences

The process demonstrated here follows official Senior School timetabling guidelines by the Ministry of Education and uses the ASc Timetable software.

Step 1: Understand Senior School Timetabling Guidelines

Before opening any timetabling software, the committee must fully understand the official guidelines.

Key Guidelines for Grade 10, 11 & 12

• 8 lessons per day
• 40 lessons per week
• Each lesson lasts 40 minutes
• Reporting time: 8.00 am
• Lessons run from 8.20 am – 3.20 pm
• 8.00 – 8.20 am reserved for roll call, assembly, and class meetings
• PE: 3 lessons per week
• ICT: 2 lessons per week
• Pastoral/Religious Programme Instruction (P/RPI): 1 lesson per week
• Learner Personal/Group Study: 1 lesson per week
• Only one double lesson allowed (Arts & Sports Science or STEM)
• Core and support subjects must be single lessons
• Subjects with similar skills should not follow one another
• Balanced distribution of subjects between morning and afternoon sessions
• Health breaks:
  • After every two lessons
  • First break: 10 minutes
  • Second break: 30 minutes
  • Lunch break: 1 hour
• Non-formal programmes occur after 3.20 pm

Step 2: Analyse the School Profile

Effective timetabling begins with accurate school data.

School Profile Summary

• Total Grade 10 student population: 880
• Pathway ratio: STEM : Social Sciences : Arts & Sports Science = 6 : 5 : 1
• Total Grade 10 streams: 12

Grade 10 Streams

A. STEM (6 streams)
10B – Blue
10C – Central
10E – East
10G – Green
10N – North
10R – Red

B. Social Sciences (5 streams)
10W – West
10P – Purple
10V – Violet
10I – Indigo
10O – Orange

C. Arts & Sports Sciences (1 stream)
10A – Achievers

Step 3: Define Subjects for Each Pathway

Each pathway has 40 lessons per week, distributed across core, elective, and support subjects.

A. STEM Pathway Subjects (40 Lessons per week)

Core Subjects

• English – 5 lessons
• Kiswahili / KSL – 5 lessons
• Core Mathematics / Essential Mathematics – 5 lessons
• Community Service Learning (CSL) – 3 lessons

Elective Subject Options

• BAGHC – 5 lessons
  (Biology, Agriculture, General Science, Home Science, Computer Science)
• CAGHC – 5 lessons
  (Chemistry, Agriculture, General Science, Home Science, Computer Science)
• PAGHC – 5 lessons
  (Physics, Agriculture, General Science, Home Science, Computer Science)

Note: This blocking will allow students to pick any two or three subjects from the electives.

Support Subjects

• Physical Education (PE) – 3 lessons
• ICT – 2 lessons
• Pastoral/Religious Programme Instruction – 1 lesson
• Learner Personal/Group Study – 1 lesson

Sample Timetable for Grade 10 Blue (STEM)

Sample Timetable for Grade 10 Central (STEM)

B. Social Sciences Pathway Subjects (40 Lessons per week)

Core Subjects

• English – 5 lessons
• Kiswahili / KSL – 5 lessons
• Core Mathematics / Essential Mathematics – 5 lessons
• Community Service Learning (CSL) – 3 lessons

Elective Subject Options

• KESFGM – 5 lessons
  (Fasihi ya Kiswahili, Literature in English, Sign Language, French, German, Mandarin Chinese)
• GHCKEB – 5 lessons

(G – Geography, H – History & Citizenship, C – CRE, K – Kiswahili (Fasihi)/Indigenous Language, E – English (Literature), B – Business Studies)

• GHCBEK – 5 lessons

(G – Geography, H – History & Citizenship, C – CRE, B – Business Studies, E – English (Literature), K – Kiswahili (Fasihi)/Indigenous Language)

Note: This blocking will allow students to pick any two or three subjects from the electives.

Support Subjects

• Physical Education (PE) – 3 lessons
• ICT – 2 lessons
• Pastoral/Religious Programme Instruction – 1 lesson
• Learner Personal/Group Study – 1 lesson

Sample Timetable for Grade 10 North (Social Sciences)

Sample Timetable for Grade 10 Red (Social Sciences)

C. Arts and Sports Sciences Pathway Subjects (40 Lessons per week)

Core Subjects

• English – 5 lessons
• Kiswahili / KSL – 5 lessons
• Core Mathematics / Essential Mathematics – 5 lessons
• Community Service Learning (CSL) – 3 lessons

Elective Subjects

• Music and Dance – 5 lessons
• Theatre and Film – 5 lessons
• Fine Arts – 5 lessons

Note: Our school cannot offer Sports and Recreation due to lack of resources.

Support Subjects

• Physical Education (PE) – 3 lessons
• ICT – 2 lessons
• Pastoral/Religious Programme Instruction – 1 lesson
• Learner Personal/Group Study – 1 lesson

Sample Timetable for Grade 10 Red (Art & Sport Science)

Step 4: Configure the ASc Timetable Software

In the ASc Timetable software:

1. Create Grade 10 as a year group
2. Create 12 streams and assign them to pathways
3. Enter all subjects exactly as per weekly lesson allocation
4. Define:
   • Lesson length (40 minutes)
   • School day start and end times
   • Break durations
5. Set constraints:
   • Only one double lesson
   • Core subjects as single lessons
   • Balanced morning/afternoon distribution

Step 5: Create a Sample Daily Lesson Structure

Period	Time
Assembly	8.00 – 8.20
Lesson 1	8.20 – 9.00
Lesson 2	9.00 – 9.40
Break 1	9.40 – 9.50
Lesson 3	9.50 – 10.30
Lesson 4	10.30 – 11.10
Break 2	11.10 – 11.40
Lesson 5	11.40 – 12.20
Lesson 6	12.20 – 1.00
Lunch	1.00 – 2.00
Lesson 7	2.00 – 2.40
Lesson 8	2.40 – 3.20

Step 6: Plot Subjects Stream by Stream

Timetabling should be done pathway by pathway, not randomly.

STEM Streams (10B, 10C, 10E, 10G, 10N, 10R)

• Rotate elective options across streams
• Avoid placing Mathematics after Physics or Chemistry consecutively
• Place double lessons strategically (labs or practicals)

Social Sciences Streams (10W, 10P, 10V, 10I, 10O)

• Alternate language-heavy and humanities subjects
• Balance literature and content-based subjects
• Distribute electives evenly across the week

Arts & Sports Sciences Stream (10A)

• Place the double lesson within arts subjects
• Ensure creative subjects are balanced with core subjects
• Avoid clustering practical subjects in one day

Step 7: Validate and Optimize the Timetable

Before approval:

• Confirm 40 lessons per week per stream
• Check teacher clashes
• Ensure subject balance
• Verify compliance with KICD guidelines
• Test learner workload distribution

Conclusion

A well-designed Senior School Grade 10 timetable supports academic rigor, learner well-being, and effective resource use. By following official guidelines, analysing school data, and using timetabling software correctly, schools can create compliant, balanced, and learner-centered timetables across all three pathways.