I would like to write a script which can automate the bell in my school. I can imagine it would be fairly simple, but I simply don't know the best way to go about it

The idea is to play two sound files: one played at the start and one played at the end of each lesson.

One complication is that, for example, Monday and Thursday's classes may differ a little from the rest of the week.

I would like to see this happen; it's all part of my plan to have Linux take over the whole place!

Is cron/crontab the way to go? I've no previous experience of using either, is there something better?

Any pointers or examples of how this could be achieved would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, cron is what your are looking for. Just find some documentation about how to set up the crontab and then type "crontab -e" to edit it.

Thanks, Cliff. I'll check it out.