1 hour timer
What a 1-hour timer is good for
- Exam papers. AQA's GCSE French Higher reading paper lasts 1 hour. GCSE Maths papers with AQA are 1 hour 30 minutes, so set the minutes box to 30 as well if you are practising those.
- Children's daily activity. NHS guidance is that children aged 5 to 18 should average at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity a day.
- Meetings and appointments. Keep a one-hour slot to time, or remind yourself to leave for the next thing.
- Cooking. Many stews, roasts and bakes need checking around the hour mark.
- Parking. Start it when you buy a one-hour ticket so you know when to head back.
- Timed essays. One hour for a planned essay answer, with the first five minutes spent on a plan.
How it works
Press Start and the 1-hour countdown begins; the bar and the browser tab show the time left. The timer counts to a fixed end time, so it stays accurate if you switch tabs, and an alarm sounds at zero while the numbers flash. Full screen makes the digits readable from across a room. Space starts and pauses, R resets. To share a different length, add ?t= and a number of seconds to the address: datetime.uk/timer/?t=5400 opens a 1 hour 30 minute timer.
For long study sessions with breaks, use the Pomodoro timer. For other lengths, use the online timer, and for exam timetables see exam dates.
Frequently asked questions
How long are GCSE exams?
It depends on the subject and exam board. With AQA, each GCSE Maths paper is 1 hour 30 minutes, while the GCSE French Higher reading paper is 1 hour. Check the specification for your subject.
Will the timer keep going if I switch tabs?
Yes. The timer counts to a fixed end time and the alarm is scheduled in advance, so it stays accurate in a background tab. Closing the tab stops it.
Why does the display show 1:00:00?
Times of an hour or more show hours, minutes and seconds. Below one hour, it switches to minutes and seconds.