Junior Secondary
This is for children between the ages 10-11 and 13-14, and is the last period of compulsory education for Sri Lankan children. To supplement compulsory classes, children participate in around 40 group activities each school year.
Senior Secondary
This period lasts two years and is for children between 14 and 16 years old. It prepares children to sit the GCE OL exam (GCE Ordinary Level Examination), which is an O-Level, and is based on the old British Ordinary Level. The exam can be taken in Tamil, English or Sinhala, and is held every year in August. It tests a pupil’s level in 8 different subjects:
- The mother tongue (Sinhala/Tamil)
- Second language
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
- Religion
- Aesthetic subject (dance, music, art)
- Technological studies
As well as these subjects, students will also study English, Health, Physical Education, Technology, History, Life / Practical Skills, Technical subjects, and other aesthetic subjects such as Sri Lankan art, Sri Lankan dancing, Karnatic dancing, Oriental Music or Western music.
In Senior Secondary, students can choose two additional subjects from the following list to complement their compulsory subjects:
- History
- Geography
- Development Studies
- Sinhala / Tamil
- Literature (Arabic, English, Tamil or Sinhala)
- A Modern or Classical language
- Health
- Physical education
College
College, which is not compulsory, lasts two years, and is for teenagers between the ages of 16 and 18. It ends with one of the four GCE Advance Level Examinations. Students study one of the subject groups shown below, and can also take an General English examination, and a Common General Test.
To proceed to university, students are expected to obtain a pass mark in the Common General Test.
- Physical Science (Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry)
- Biological Science (Biology, Physics and Chemistry)
- Commerce and Accounting
- Arts
To achieve the required examination results, students are allowed to sit the GCE Advance Level a total of three times, over a period of three years.