GCE Ordinary Level

This article is about the secondary school leaving exam 1 Current usage
once taken in the United Kingdom. For the equivalent
exam in Sri Lanka, see GCE Ordinary Level in Sri Lanka.
1.1 Bangladesh
For the CIE O Levels taken in Singapore, see SingaporeCambridge GCE Ordinary Level.
In Bangladesh, the O Level qualication is oered, with
The O Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualiexaminations conducted by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) and Edexcel under the board of British
Council. O Level qualication has become a replacement for the matriculation qualication (SSC) oered by
the Government boards of education.However,due to the
high costs associated with O Level qualications, their
reach is limited to middle to elite class families. It is
common knowledge that the CIE qualication are more
rigorous than their alternatives that exist in the country.

1.2 Brunei
In Brunei, the O Level qualication is oered, with examinations conducted by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).
A number of subjects, including English Language, Bahasa Melayu, Malay Literature, Islamic Religious Knowledge, Ulum al-Quran, Hafaz al-Quran, Tafsir al-Quran
(Asas), History, Geography, Arabic, Art and Design, offer exam papers and syllabuses unique to Brunei. AddiO Level logo
tionally, the Mathematics (Syllabus E) subject previously
oered an exam paper and a syllabus unique to Brunei,
but this has since been retired and the regular syllabus
cation conferred as part of the General Certicate of Ed- used worldwide is oered. This is equivalent to secucation. It was introduced as part of British educational ondary education now.
reform in the 1950s alongside the more in-depth and academically rigorous A-level (ocial title of qualication:
General Certicate of Education - Advanced Level) in 1.3 India
England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Those three jurisdictions replaced O Levels gradually with General Cer- In India, Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)
ticate of Secondary Education and International Gen- GCE Ordinary Level qualications are oered at private
eral Certicate of Secondary Education exams over time. and international schools as an alternative to the conven[3][4]
The Scottish equivalent was the O-grade (replaced by tional Indian School Certicate (ISC).
the Standard Grade). The O Level qualication is still
awarded by CIE Cambridge International Examinations,
the international counterpart of the British examination 1.4 Malaysia
Board OCR (Oxford, Cambridge & Royal Society of
Arts),[1] in select locations, instead of or alongside the In Malaysia, the O Level qualication is oered (SPM),
International General Certicate of Secondary Education with examinations conducted by Cambridge International
qualications. Both CIE and OCR have Cambridge As- Examinations (CIE). The English Language subject was
sessment as their parent organisation.[1] The Cambridge previously oered with an exam paper and a syllabus
O Level has already been phased out, however, and is no unique to Malaysia, but this Malaysia-specic qualicalonger available in certain administrative regions.[2]
tion has since expired, and the regular English Language
1

2 FORMER USAGE

exam paper and syllabus used worldwide is now used Malay, and Tamil, and also the Combined Humanities
within the country.
(Social Studies) subject.

1.5

Mauritius

Main article: School Certicate (Mauritius)

In Mauritius, the O Level qualication is awarded as
part of the School Certicate, which is awarded upon
successful completion of Form V in secondary school.
The O Level examinations are jointly conducted by the
Mauritius Examinations Syndicate and the University
of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES).
The International General Certicate of Secondary Education from Edexcel is also oered as an equivalent alternative qualication, for which exam registration may be
done through the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate.

A number of subjects, including Arabic, Arabic as a

Third Language, Art, Art (with Coursework), Bahasa Indonesia as a Third Language, Bengali, Burmese, Business
Studies, Combined Humanities, Design and Technology,
Drama, English Language, Food and Nutrition, German,
Gujarati, Higher Art, Higher Music, Hindi, Japanese,
Mathematics, Music, Panjabi, Physical Education, Principles of Accounts, Religious Studies (Bible Knowledge),
Thai, and Urdu, oer exam papers and syllabuses unique
to Singapore. Additionally a number of subjects, including Additional Mathematics, Biology, Biology (with
Coursework), Chemistry, Chemistry (with Coursework),
Commerce, Computer Studies, Economics, Geography,
History, History (World Aairs 1917 - 1991), Literature
in English, Physics, Physics (with Coursework), Science
(Chemistry, Biology), Science (Physics, Biology), Science (Physics, Chemistry), previously oered exam papers and syllabuses unique to Singapore, but these have
since been retired or planned to be phased out.

A number of subjects, including English Language, English Language (Syllabus B), History, Mathematics (Syllabus A), Mathematics (Syllabus D), oer exam papers
and syllabuses unique to Mauritius. Additionally, the subject of Art and Design, the oering of which is restricted
to a limited geographic region, is available in Mauritius. 1.9

Sri Lanka

The GCE Ordinary Level qualication is oered by the

British council of Sri Lanka School (BCS).[5] Before, this
1.6 Pakistan
qualication was jointly oered by Cambridge InternaThe GCE O Level qualication is oered in Pakistan by tional Examinations and the Ministry of Education in Sri
the CIE and conducted by the British Council. O Level Lanka.
qualication has become a replacement for the matriculation qualication oered by the Government boards of
1.10 Zimbabwe
education. Due to the high costs associated with O Level
qualications, their reach is limited to middle to elite class
The GCE Ordinary Level qualication is oered by the
families. It is common knowledge that the CIE qualicaZimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC).[6]
tion are more rigorous than their alternatives that exist in
Before, this qualication was jointly oered by Camthe country.
bridge International Examinations and the Ministry of
Education in Zimbabwe.

1.7

Seychelles

In Seychelles, the O Level qualication is oered, with 2 Former usage

examinations conducted by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). Some subjects are unique to Seychelles
2.1 Caribbean
or have a format, curriculum, or syllabus that is unique to
Seychelles.
The O Level qualication was previously awarded in the
Caribbean. However, many Caribbean countries have
now switched to awarding Caribbean Secondary Educa1.8 Singapore
tion Certication (CSEC) qualications based on sucMain article: Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level cessful completion of examinations administered by the
Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).
In Singapore, the O Level qualication is oered jointly
by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) and the
Singapore Ministry of Education. The examinations are
mainly conducted by CIE, with select subject examinations conducted by the Singapore Ministry of Education,
including select mother tongue subjects, such as Chinese,

2.2 Hong Kong

The O Level qualication was previously awarded in
Hong Kong, along with the Hong Kong version of the
A Level qualication. However, this was replaced

3
with the Hong Kong Certicate of Education Examination (HKCEE) which was then replaced with the Hong
Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE). The
HKCEE was previously benchmarked against the O Levels for comparable subjects, but with the introduction of
the International General Certicate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) qualication the Hong Kong equivalent
qualication was then benchmarked against the IGCSE.

2.3

United Kingdom

Main article: GCE Ordinary Level (United Kingdom)

The GCE O Level qualication originated in the United
Kingdom, where it was awarded as the secondary schoolleaving qualication. It was primarily an examinationsbased qualication, with a grading system that changed
over the years. In the United Kingdom, the O Level qualications were replaced with the General Certicate of
Secondary Education (GCSE) and the International General Certicate of Secondary Education (IGCSE).

See also
GCE Ordinary Level (International) (O-Level)
GCE Ordinary Level (United Kingdom)
Ordinary Level (Sri Lanka)
Cambridge International Ordinary Level (Singapore)
Cambridge International O-Level subjects
Certicate of Secondary Education (CSE)
Certicate of Secondary Education (United
Kingdom)(CSE)
General Certicate of Secondary Education
(GCSE), which replaced the O Levels and CSE
International General Certicate of Secondary
Education (IGCSE), which is oered with or
instead of O Levels internationally
General Certicate of Education (GCE), which
comprises O Levels and A-levels
School certicate (SC), predecessor to the GCE OLevel and CSE qualications
School Certicate (United Kingdom)
School Certicate (Australia)
School Certicate (New Zealand)

4 References
[1] http://www.rm.com/generic.asp?Cref=GP1286643
[2] Cambridge O Level subjects.
[3] http://www.jirs.ac.in/aca_cie.htm
[4] http://www.misktm.edu.np/a-level
[5] British council School Examinations Council About.
SriLankan School Examinations Council. Retrieved
2014-07-25.
[6] Zimbabwe School Examinations Council About.
Zimbabwe School Examinations Council. Retrieved
2014-07-25.

5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

5.1

Text

GCE Ordinary Level Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCE_Ordinary_Level?oldid=684937605 Contributors: Bearcat, DragonySixtyseven, Huaiwei, Discospinster, Giraedata, Alansohn, SidP, Rjwilmsi, Pburka, Mais oui!, Bwiki, SmackBot, Mauls, Rrburke,
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5.2

Images

File:OLevel.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/OLevel.svg License: Public domain Contributors: GCE

Ordinary Level logo used on documents Original artist: University of Cambridge International Examinations

5.3

Content license

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