Bulk Sitting Import – XamPro Help

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Required permission You need the Bulk Sitting permission. Ask your administrator if you cannot see this option on the Exam Sittings page.

Bulk Sitting Creation via bulk_sittings.php (MIS-driven)

This workflow creates bulk sittings from your MIS-linked student data rather than manual entry, so it is faster and reduces typing errors.

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Prerequisites You must have either XPSS or Wonde set up so student data is pulled from SIMS. Candidates must also have the exam number field populated in MIS, otherwise they will not come through correctly for bulk sitting creation.

Confirm MIS sync is healthy

Check MIS Sync and ensure recent student data has synced successfully.

Validate exam numbers in MIS

Make sure candidate exam numbers are completed in SIMS/MIS before creating bulk sittings.

Open bulk_sittings.php

Go to Create Bulk Sitting in XamPro (bulk_sittings.php workflow).

Select target students and settings

Choose the student set and apply exam paper/date/time settings for the batch.

Create and review

Create the sittings, then check counts and sample records for accuracy.

Preparing your CSV file

Your CSV must have the following columns in any order, with a header row. Column names must match exactly (case-insensitive).

Column name	Required	Description / Example
forename	Required	Candidate's first name — `Jane`
surname	Required	Candidate's last name — `Smith`
exam_number	Required	Official exam number — `12345A`
paper_name	Required	Paper or subject name — `English Literature Unit 1`
exam_date	Required	Date in `DD/MM/YYYY` format — `14/06/2025`
start_time	Required	24-hour time — `09:00`
end_time	Required	24-hour time — `11:00`
id_verification	Optional	`1` to require photo ID, `0` or blank to skip

Example CSV

forename,surname,exam_number,paper_name,exam_date,start_time,end_time,id_verification
Jane,Smith,12345A,English Literature Unit 1,14/06/2025,09:00,11:00,0
Tom,Jones,12346B,Mathematics Paper 2,14/06/2025,13:30,15:30,0
Priya,Patel,12347C,Biology Unit 3,15/06/2025,09:00,10:30,1

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Creating your CSV In Excel choose File → Save As → CSV (Comma delimited). In Google Sheets choose File → Download → Comma-separated values (.csv).

Uploading the file

Open Bulk Sitting Import

From the Exam Sittings page, click Bulk Import.

Select a Collection

Choose the collection these sittings should belong to. All sittings in this upload are assigned to the same collection. How to create a collection →

Choose your CSV file

Click Choose File and select the CSV you prepared. Maximum file size is 5 MB.

Upload and review

Click Upload. XamPro parses the file and shows a preview table with any validation warnings. Review carefully before proceeding.

Confirm the import

If the preview looks correct, click Confirm Import. XamPro creates all sittings and generates unique access codes. A summary shows how many were created and how many were skipped.

Print sitting slips

Go to the Exam Sittings page, filter by your collection, and print individual sitting slips to distribute to candidates.

Common import errors

Error message	How to fix it
Missing required column: forename	Check your CSV header row — the column must be named exactly `forename`.
Invalid date format on row 5	Ensure dates are in `DD/MM/YYYY` format.
End time must be after start time	Check the `start_time` and `end_time` columns for that row.
Duplicate exam number	A sitting with that exam number already exists. Remove the duplicate row or delete the existing sitting first.
Quota exceeded	You do not have enough credits. Contact your account manager to purchase more.

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Each row uses one credit Every sitting created in a bulk import deducts one credit from your quota, the same as a manual sitting. Check your remaining quota before uploading large files.