Choosing an exam room clock

What should an exam room clock do?

An exam room clock provides a shared reference for the current time. Its job is simple, but placement and legibility make a substantial difference. A clock that looks clear from the invigilator’s desk may be difficult to read from a corner seat or behind a pillar.

Start by checking your examination instructions. Establish whether you need a current-time clock alone, a written start and finish time, or additional information. This website lets you choose which fields appear; it does not determine the rules for your exam.

A wall clock or a screen?

A dedicated wall clock needs little setup and remains separate from the classroom computer. Its limitations may include small markings, an inconvenient position or a battery that needs attention. Check the actual clock rather than assuming it matches another device.

A screen-based clock can make the current time much larger and put the start and finish alongside it. It also introduces a computer, display connection and power settings to check. If a projector is already available, a browser display may be practical. If the only screen is hard to see in daylight, a different physical arrangement may be more useful than changing software.

Check three things before choosing

1. Sightlines: sit in the seats furthest from the screen, including positions at its edges. Check from seated eye level.
2. Time source: confirm who checks the device time and when. Exam Room Clock follows the computer’s system clock; it is not an independent time synchronisation service.
3. Continuity: test power, display sleep and offline loading. Keep the institution’s agreed fallback available.

Keep the display familiar

Use a consistent format across sessions where appropriate. Switching between 12-hour and 24-hour time without a reason can create unnecessary questions. Keep the current time largest and avoid filling the screen with text that candidates do not need.

When using several rooms, check each device and schedule separately. The free clock stores settings in the current browser, not in a shared school account. A copied display link carries fixed exam timestamps, but it does not keep separate computers’ system clocks in sync.

The exam hall guide looks at larger spaces. For a smaller teaching room, use the school setup guidance and check the result on the equipment you will actually use.