G.C.E. (O/L) syllabus of Sri Lanka: A Complete Guide

General Certificate of Education - Ordinary Level (G.C.E. - O/L) is a Sri Lankan government’s education system that applies by the Examination Department in Sri Lanka. It is one of the key examinations to 16 years old students who study in government schools.  Literally, it is grade 11, and entry examination to General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) or G.C.E. (A/L). The G.C.E. O/L examination is held annually in December.

G.C.E. (O/L) syllabuses have six main subjects with three optional subjects. All 6 main G.C.E. (O/L) syllabuses / subjects are as follows as per its categorizations:

No.	Main Subject	G.C.E. O/L subject / syllabus
1	Religion	Buddhism Saivaneri (Hinduism / Shaivism) (Roman)Catholicism (RC) Christianity (Non RC) Islam
2	(Primary) Language	Sinhala Language and Literature Tamil Language and Literature
3	(Secondary) Language	English
4	History
5	Science
6	Mathematics

The above six main subjects are compulsory. However, students can select their religion and primary language.

There optional subjects are categorized in to three areas as given below. Students should choose three subjects from each area. All of optional subjects may not available in each government school.

Category	Optional subject	Type
1	Business & Accounting Studies	Commerce
	Geography	Geography
	Civic Education	Education
	Entrepreneurship Studies	Entrepreneurship
	Second Language (Sinhala)	Language
	Second Language (Tamil)
	Pali
	Sanskrit
	French
	German
	Hindi
	Japanese
	Arabic
	Korean
	Chinese
	Russian
2	Oriental Music	Music
	Western Music
	Carnatic Music
	Oriental Dancing	Dance
	Bharatha Dancing
	Art	Art
	Appreciation of English Literary Texts	Literary Texts
	Appreciation of Sinhala Literary Texts
	Appreciation of Tamil Literary Texts
	Appreciation of Arabic Literary Texts
	Drama and Theatre	Drama
3	Information & Communication Technology	IT
	Agriculture & Food Technology	Agriculture
	Aquatic Bio-resources Technology	Aquatics
	Arts & Crafts	Art
	Home Economics	Economics
	Health & Physical Education	Health
	Communication & Media Studies	Technology (Communication)
	Design & Construction Technology
	Design & Mechanical Technology
	Design, Electrical & Electronic Technology
	Electronic Writing & Shorthand

Once the paper connection completed, result will be announced and posted to each school and private candidates. The G.C. E (O/L) grades are given below.

Marks	Grade
100-75	A
74-65	B
64-50	C
49-35	S
below 35	W*

*Grade "W" is considered as failed. 

Note: You may use this OL guide to have a quick look.