What is the best sequence
to load in my Batches?

Most people decide this by hunch, and most people work 'top-down' ...but there may be a better way.
[Note: For a discussion of how many batches to use, click here.]

In deciding the best sequence (and choosing what to put in each of your Batches) you can aim to emulate whatever sequence you may have used previously in doing the timetable manually.
 
Three examples:

Example 1
In an 11-18 school the sequence might be typically: 
Sixth Form  (R-Reserve the time-slots for any Container Blocks here first) 
Year 11
Year 10
Year 9
Year 8
Year 7.

Example 2
A better sequence might be: 
Year 11 
Year 10
Sixth Form  (R-Reserve the time-slots for the Container Blocks first)
Year 9
Year 8
Year 7.
 
The reason is that it is usually easier to solve problems in the Sixth Form than in Years 11 and 10.  
In fact a standard timetabling tactic is to plunder the Sixth Form to solve a problem lower down, and then find a solution for the Sixth Form later.
For more details see 'The TimeTabler's CookBook', sections 12.10, 11.6.

Example 3     Investigating the best 'batting order'
The rest of this page describes a more logical way of investigating the best sequence. 
Suppose an 11-16 school has activity Batches for: 
Year 11 (only has big blocks), Year 10 (only has big blocks), Year 9-Big-Blocks-only (eg. 9ABCD, etc), Year 9-Small-Blocks (eg. 9A, 9B, etc),  Year 8-Big-Blocks, Year 8-Small-Blocks,  Year 7-Big-Blocks, Year 7-Small-Blocks.
 
Before starting the timetable proper it can be a good idea to do some 'What if...?' investigations to find the best 'batting order', as follows:
 
a) Start a New Schedule (see Section E1), and give it a name like 'Trial 1'.

b) On the Visual Builder Screen or the Priority List Screen, set the DayBlocking code= 4, and AutoFit at level 5 (or 4).

c) Load the Batch for Year 11, assign a few lessons interactively to give it a structure, and then click Auto.

d) When that Batch has been placed, add one Batch at a time (see Section F9), perhaps in the following sequence:

1. Year 11
2. Year 10
3. Year 9-Big
4. Year 9-Small
5. Year 8-Big
6. Year 8-Small
7. Year 7-Big
8. Year 7-Small

If at any stage you get a kickout(s) then back-track to the previous step and take a different route.
To back-track, Unassign all the lessons for a Batch before Unloading the Batch.
• To Unassign the lessons, on the Class Timetable Screen, right-click and select 'Unassign all week (cycle)'.
• To Unload the Batch click on the 'Load/Unload' icon (3rd icon at top-left, see Section F9).

For example, suppose in trying the sequence above, you get some kickouts at step 5 when trying to place Year 8-Big.  
First Unassign and Unload 'Year 8-Big' and the previous Batch ('Year 9-Small').
Then re-load 'Year 8-Big', so the sequence now is:
 
1. Year 11
2. Year 10
3. Year 9-Big------------------------|
                                         4. Year 8-Big
                                         5. Year 9-Small
                                         6. Year 8-Small
                                         7. Year 7-Big
                                         8. Year 7-Small

At a later stage, suppose you have problems placing Year 8-Small.
An alternative tactic you can use here is to Unassign the lessons of the previous Batch (Year 9-Small) and then load and run both Batches together (Year 9-Small AND Year 8-Small).
 
1. Year 11
2. Year 10
3. Year 9-Big------------------------|
                                         4. Year 8-Big------------------------|
                                                                                  5. Year 9-Small )
                                                                                  6. Year 8-Small ) together
                                                                                  7. Year 7-Big 
                                                                                  8. Year 7-Small

These experiments in different permutations can help to clarify which are the difficult parts of your timetable
eg. difficult classes/years  or  difficult teachers.

Then Delete this 'Trial' schedule so that your Batches are ready to use to develop the real schedule.

(You can also edit any changes to the Batches if you have discovered something that would help.)