What is the pass mark for the Grade 5 Scholarship exam in Sri Lanka?

There is no single national pass mark. The Department of Examinations sets a separate district cut-off each year, by medium. For the 2025 exam (Sinhala medium), it ranged from 140 in Colombo, Gampaha, Kandy and several others down to 127 in some northern and eastern districts. A child is eligible for the scholarship allowance if their mark is at or above their own district's cut-off.

Is the Grade 5 Scholarship cut-off the same for every district?

No. The cut-off is district-relative and changes every year. For 2025, a mark of 134 cleared the Sinhala-medium cut-off in Nuwara Eliya (132) but fell short in Colombo (140). The cut-off reflects how candidates in that district and medium performed, not a fixed national standard.

How many marks are needed to enter a national school after the exam?

School admission cut-offs are separate from, and usually much higher than, the district pass mark. For the 2025 exam (Grade 6 admission 2026), Royal College Colombo's merit cut-off was 184 and Thurstan College's was 171 — well above any district pass mark. Clearing the district cut-off lets a child apply; clearing a school's cut-off is a separate, higher bar.

What is the difference between the district cut-off and the school admission cut-off?

The district cut-off is the threshold to receive the monthly scholarship allowance and to be eligible to apply for popular schools in your district. The school admission cut-off is the specific minimum mark that actually secured a Grade 6 place at a named school under the merit quota — typically far higher. This tool shows both.

Does clearing a school's cut-off guarantee admission to Grade 6?

No. The cut-off is a screening threshold only. Final Grade 6 placement also depends on your quota category (merit, proximity, sibling, past-pupil, etc.), an interview, residence verification and document checks. This tool tells you whether a mark cleared the published merit cut-off — it cannot guarantee a seat.

Which years and districts does this checker cover?

It covers the 2025 and 2024 Grade 5 Scholarship exams for all 25 districts, in both Sinhala and Tamil medium, transcribed from the Department of Examinations releases. Where the Department published no cut-off for a medium in a district (for example, Sinhala medium in Jaffna), the tool shows "not published" rather than guessing.

Why does my child's district show "not published" for one medium?

The Department only publishes a cut-off for a medium when enough candidates sat in it. In districts where almost all candidates sit in one medium, the other medium may have no published cut-off for that year. Switch the medium selector to see the figure that applies to your child.

Is the list of national schools complete?

No — it is a curated set of widely-searched national schools whose figures were confirmed against the official release, not the full list of roughly 350 schools that admit to Grade 6. More schools are added as their published cut-offs are verified. For schools not listed, check the Ministry of Education's official cut-off release.

Sri Lanka · Education

Sri Lanka Grade 5 Scholarship Cut-Off Marks by District

Enter a child's Grade 5 Scholarship mark, district and medium to see instantly whether it cleared the official district cut-off — and which national schools it would have qualified for. Department of Examinations figures, no signup, sources cited.

By Induwara Ashinsana— Executive Director, Ryzera TechnologiesUpdated Jun 19, 2026

Check the cut-offGrade 5 Scholarship

Exam year

District

Medium

Child's mark (out of 200)

Enter the official mark from the results release.

Enter the child's mark to check eligibility.

Pick the exam year, district and medium above, then type the official mark. You'll see whether it cleared the district cut-off, how it compares to last year, and which national schools it would have qualified for. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.

2025 district cut-off marks (Sinhala medium)

District	Sinhala cut-off
Colombo(selected)	140
Gampaha	140
Kalutara	140
Kandy	140
Matale	140
Nuwara Eliya	132
Galle	140
Matara	140
Hambantota	135
Jaffna	not published
Kilinochchi	127
Mannar	127
Vavuniya	127
Mullaitivu	127
Batticaloa	127
Ampara	133
Trincomalee	133
Kurunegala	140
Puttalam	133
Anuradhapura	133
Polonnaruwa	133
Badulla	134
Monaragala	134
Ratnapura	136
Kegalle	140

303,670 children sat the 2025 exam (sat 10 August 2025); 51,969 scored above their district cut-off.

National-school admission (2025 exam → Grade 6 2026)

Enter a mark above to see which of these 9 widely-searched national schools it would have cleared.

Sources: Department of Examinations Grade 5 Scholarship releases (district cut-offs) and the Ministry of Education Grade 6 admission cut-off release (school cut-offs). Full links are in the Sources section below. Marks are transcribed verbatim; nothing here is predicted or estimated.

How it works

This is a lookup-and-comparison tool, not a formula calculator. Its accuracy comes entirely from transcribing the official published marks correctly — so every number it shows is traceable to a specific Department of Examinations or Ministry of Education release, and nothing is predicted or estimated.

District cut-off lookup. For the year, district and medium you choose, the tool reads the official district cut-off mark C from the Department of Examinations dataset. The cut-off is set separately for each district and each medium, every year — there is no single national pass mark.
Eligibility comparison. With the child's mark M, the child is eligible for the scholarship allowance when M ≥ C. The margin is M − C: positive means cleared by that many marks, negative means short by that many. The rule is inclusive, so a mark exactly equal to the cut-off clears it.
School admission lookup. For each school s in the curated national-school table with admission cut-off Cs, the mark "would have qualified" when M ≥ Cs. Schools are sorted hardest first. School admission cut-offs are typically well above the district pass mark and vary by school and medium.
Year-over-year note.The tool reports how the selected district's cut-off moved against the previous published year, for the same medium — useful context, since cut-offs drift each year with candidate performance.

If a year, district or medium combination is not in the official dataset, the tool says "not published" instead of guessing. As a credibility check, the underlying dataset is run through an automated self-check on load — every year must list all 25 districts with no duplicates, and every mark must be a whole number within 0–200. That status is shown on the badge inside the tool.

Worked examples

Ratnapura · Sinhala · 2025 · mark 138

District cut-off C = 136 (2025, Ratnapura, Sinhala)
Margin = 138 − 136 = +2
138 ≥ 136 → Cleared the cut-off; eligible for the allowance
Curated schools (all cut-offs ≥ 171): 0 cleared
Shortfall to the lowest (Thurstan, 171): 138 − 171 = −33

Colombo · Sinhala · 2025 · mark 134

District cut-off C = 140 (2025, Colombo, Sinhala)
Margin = 134 − 140 = −6
134 < 140 → Below the cut-off by 6; not eligible in Colombo
The same 134 would clear Nuwara Eliya (132), Puttalam (133) or Monaragala (134)
Lesson: the cut-off is district-relative, not a national pass mark

Colombo · Sinhala · 2025 · mark 182 (edge: top scorer)

District cut-off C = 140 → Margin = +42 → Cleared
Clears 8 of 9 curated schools (all cut-offs ≤ 182)
Dharmaraja 181, Ananda 180, Richmond 179, Nalanda 178, Kingswood 178…
Does NOT clear Royal College (184): 182 − 184 = −2
Shows admission is a separate, higher bar than the district pass mark

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references

District cut-offs cover the 2025 and 2024 exams (all 25 districts, both media). The curated national-school cut-offs use the 2025 exam release for Grade 6 admission in 2026 (9 schools verified so far). Figures were last reconciled to the cited releases on 2026-06-19. New exam years and schools are added as the Department and Ministry publish them.

Related tools

LiveEducation

Admission Marks

Estimate the marks your Grade 1 government school application will score under the Ministry of Education circular. All five admission categories, with breakdown and document checklist.

Open tool

LiveEducation

Grade 1 Age Check

Enter your child's date of birth and instantly see which year they're eligible for Grade 1 in a Sri Lankan government school under the Ministry of Education's 5-year / 31 January rule. No signup, sources cited.

Open tool

LiveEducation

O/L Pass Check

Enter your nine GCE O/L grades and instantly see whether you passed O/L, qualified for A/L, and how many credits and distinctions you earned. Sources cited.

Open tool

Rate this tool

Be the first to rate

Comments & feedback

Spotted a bug or want an improvement? Tell us — our team reviews every comment, and good ideas get built. Comments are public and anonymous.

Spotted a cut-off that doesn't match the official release, or want a school added?

Email me at [email protected] — most fixes ship within 24 hours.