Nova T6 without SIMS

[bobsmith]

I trained up an assistant head with zero timetabling experience to use Edval in a matter of weeks during his "free" periods.

Funnily enough the most effort went into teaching him the basics of timetabling rather than using the software - that part is pretty intuitive and nothing like the learning curve of using Nova-T6.

The closest he got to timetabling prior to this was rearranging an excel spreadsheet of the current timetable without formulae.

He did start doing some official training on Nova and then swore he'd never timetable if he had to use it - I never blamed him.

As for Edval - after we got a workable curriculum plan and staffing allocations figured out (no need for timetable software at that stage) - the algorithms they use actually produced a decent timetable in about 2hours.....

[DeeGee]

I think that’s exactly it. NOVA‑T6 was unbeatable in its day, and anyone who’s been around timetabling long enough knows it inside out. But once you finally rip the plaster off and move to something else, you realise just how much complexity NOVA adds to things that don’t need to be complicated.

 

And if you want it to actually do anything, you spend hours feeding in constraints, hit autoschedule, and then watch the machine hang for half a day before coming back with a polite “nope”. Meanwhile you can’t use the computer for anything else. Other systems have moved on massively, while NOVA is basically identical to how it was when I first used it.

 

For me, the key is that you need to understand how to write a timetable, not just how to operate a particular bit of software. Once you’ve got that, the best tool is simply the one that talks cleanly to your MIS.

 

In our case, when the trust moved from SIMS to Bromcom, I moved from NOVA‑T to wTT. What’s been interesting is that when I share my skills with colleagues who want to learn timetabling, they pick it up far more quickly in wTT than they ever would have in NOVA. Even the UI alone is less intimidating than NOVA’s “Windows XP in a trench coat” aesthetic.

 

Edited June 15 by DeeGee

[DrBeaker]

5 hours ago, DeeGee said:

...For me, the key is that you need to understand how to write a timetable, not just how to operate a particular bit of software...

 

We have the EXACT SAME argument with Art about Photoshop nearly every year.

 

They need to understand how to edit and manipulate images, not just how to operate a particular bit of software...

 

Are we teaching them HOW to edit and manipulate images, or are we teaching them HOW to operate a particular brand of photo-editing software... beginning with A.

 

Edited June 15 by DrBeaker

[JDawgg]

On 11/06/2026 at 11:10, Theblacksheep said:

Our timetablers seem incapable of using any other product other than Nova.

 

Can this still be purchased as a standalone, does anyone have any upto date pricing?

 

Ours were the same but with a Arbor move they were forced onto Timetabler - don't hear much from them these days so it must be working!