Grade 5 Scholarship Exam: A Complete Guide for Parents in Sri Lanka

ByMohamed Suhail
October 2, 2026
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Grade 5 Scholarship

Grade 5 Scholarship exam guide for parents in Sri Lanka

The Grade 5 Scholarship exam (Grade 5 Scholarship Examination) is one of the most talked-about exams in Sri Lanka – and one of the most stressful for families. Because children sit it at around ten years of age, parents play a big role in how the experience feels. This guide explains how the exam works, what the results really mean, and how you can support your child in a healthy way.

What is the Grade 5 Scholarship exam?

The exam is conducted by the Department of Examinations for students in Grade 5. It has two main purposes:

Admission to popular schools: students who score above the cut-off mark for their district and medium can apply for admission to well-resourced national and provincial schools from Grade 6.
Financial assistance (bursary): students from lower-income families who score above the cut-off can receive a monthly bursary to support their education. Family income limits apply and are set by the government.

The Ministry of Education has repeatedly stressed that the exam is not compulsory and is not a test of a child’s overall ability or future success.

How the papers work

In recent years the exam has had two papers, each marked out of 100, giving a total out of 200. Paper I focuses on short-answer and multiple-choice style questions testing intelligence and reasoning, while Paper II includes structured questions on language and general knowledge. The exact structure is defined by the Department of Examinations and may change with education reforms, so always check the latest official instructions for the year your child sits.

Understanding cut-off marks

After the results, the Ministry of Education publishes cut-off marks for each district and each medium (Sinhala and Tamil). These numbers differ because they depend on how many students sat the exam in that area and how many school places are available.

A score above your district’s cut-off makes your child eligible to apply for a popular school or bursary – it does not guarantee a place in a particular school.
Each popular school also has its own admission cut-off, which is often higher.
A score below the cut-off simply means the child continues in their current school or another school through normal admission – it is not a failure.

After the results: what happens next

Results are released by the Department of Examinations, usually online and through schools.
District and medium cut-off marks are announced.
Eligible parents fill in school preference applications within the given deadline, following the Ministry’s circular.
Bursary applications are processed with income verification through the school and relevant authorities.
Re-scrutiny can be requested within the official deadline if you believe there is a marking error.

How to support your child – without the pressure

Keep perspective. One exam at age ten does not decide a child’s future. Many successful professionals did not pass the scholarship exam.
Protect sleep, play and meals. Rested children learn better than exhausted ones.
Short, regular practice beats long sessions. 30–45 focused minutes with breaks is more effective than hours of tuition every day.
Use past papers wisely. Practise a few questions, then talk through mistakes calmly.
Avoid comparisons with cousins, neighbours or classmates.
Praise effort, not only marks. Children remember how you reacted long after they forget the score.

If the result is disappointing

Let your child know you are proud of the effort they made. Avoid discussing marks in front of relatives or on social media. Focus on the next steps – Grade 6 is a fresh start, and strong performance at O/L and A/L is what matters most for university and careers. If your child seems very upset for a long time, talk with their class teacher or school counsellor.

A note on privacy

Please do not post your child’s index number, full name and marks publicly online. Share good news with family privately, and never give index numbers to unknown pages or people offering “results” services.

සිංහලෙන්: 5 ශ්‍රේණිය ශිෂ්‍යත්ව විභාගය – දෙමාපියන් සඳහා මාර්ගෝපදේශය

5 ශ්‍රේණිය ශිෂ්‍යත්ව විභාගය විභාග දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව මඟින් පවත්වනු ලබයි. එහි ප්‍රධාන අරමුණු දෙකකි: ජනප්‍රිය පාසල්වලට ඇතුළත් වීම සහ අඩු ආදායම් ලාභී පවුල්වල දරුවන්ට ශිෂ්‍යාධාර ලබා දීම.

කඩඉම් ලකුණු: එක් එක් දිස්ත්‍රික්කය සහ මාධ්‍යය අනුව වෙනස් වේ. කඩඉමට වඩා ලකුණු ලැබීමෙන් ලැබෙන්නේ ඉල්ලුම් කිරීමේ සුදුසුකම පමණි.
කඩඉමට අඩු වීම අසමත් වීමක් නොවේ. දරුවා තම පාසලේම අධ්‍යාපනය දිගටම කරගෙන යයි.
සහාය වන්න: නින්ද, ක්‍රීඩා සහ ආහාර ආරක්ෂා කරන්න; කෙටි, නිතිපතා පුහුණුව කරන්න; අන් දරුවන් සමඟ සසඳන්න එපා; ලකුණුවලට වඩා උත්සාහය අගය කරන්න.
පෞද්ගලිකත්වය: දරුවාගේ විභාග අංකය සහ ලකුණු සමාජ මාධ්‍යවල පළ නොකරන්න.

தமிழில்: தரம் 5 புலமைப்பரிசில் பரீட்சை – பெற்றோருக்கான வழிகாட்டி

தரம் 5 புலமைப்பரிசில் பரீட்சை பரீட்சைத் திணைக்களத்தால் நடத்தப்படுகிறது. இதன் இரண்டு முக்கிய நோக்கங்கள்: பிரபல பாடசாலைகளில் அனுமதி பெறுதல் மற்றும் குறைந்த வருமானக் குடும்பப் பிள்ளைகளுக்குப் புலமைப்பரிசில் கொடுப்பனவு வழங்குதல்.

வெட்டுப்புள்ளிகள்: ஒவ்வொரு மாவட்டத்துக்கும் மொழிமூலத்துக்கும் வேறுபடும். வெட்டுப்புள்ளியை விட அதிக புள்ளிகள் பெறுவது விண்ணப்பிக்கும் தகுதியை மட்டுமே தரும்.
வெட்டுப்புள்ளிக்குக் குறைவாகப் பெறுவது தோல்வி அல்ல. பிள்ளை தனது பாடசாலையிலேயே கல்வியைத் தொடரும்.
ஆதரவு வழங்குங்கள்: தூக்கம், விளையாட்டு, உணவைப் பாதுகாக்கவும்; குறுகிய, ஒழுங்கான பயிற்சி செய்யவும்; மற்றவர்களுடன் ஒப்பிட வேண்டாம்; புள்ளிகளை விட முயற்சியைப் பாராட்டுங்கள்.
தனியுரிமை: பிள்ளையின் சுட்டெண்ணையும் புள்ளிகளையும் சமூக ஊடகங்களில் பகிர வேண்டாம்.

Stay updated

Follow our Grade 5 Scholarship updates for results announcements, cut-off marks and past papers. Official information is published by the Department of Examinations and the Ministry of Education. BrightNook.lk is an independent education website.