The O Level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the
General Certificate of Education. It was introduced as part of British
educational reform in the 1950s alongside the more in-depth and
academically rigorous A-level in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Those three jurisdictions replaced O Levels gradually with General
Certificate of Secondary Education and International General Certificate of
Secondary Education exams over time. The Scottish equivalent was the O-grade. The
O Level qualification is still awarded by CIE Cambridge International
Examinations, the international counterpart of the British examination
Board OCR, in select locations, instead of or alongside the International
General Certificate of Secondary Education qualifications. Both CIE and
OCR have Cambridge Assessment as their parent organisation. The Cambridge O
Level has already been phased out, however, and is no longer available in
certain administrative regions. Current usage
= Bangladesh = In Bangladesh, the O Level qualification
is offered, with examinations conducted by Cambridge International Examinations
and Edexcel under the board of British Council. O Level qualification has
become a replacement for the matriculation qualification offered by
the Government boards of education.However,due to the high costs
associated with O Level qualifications, their reach is limited to middle to
elite class families. It is common knowledge that the CIE qualification are
more rigorous than their alternatives that exist in the country.
= Brunei = In Brunei, the O Level qualification is
offered, with examinations conducted by Cambridge International Examinations.
A number of subjects, including English Language, Bahasa Melayu, Malay
Literature, Islamic Religious Knowledge, Ulum al-Quran, Hafaz al-Quran, Tafsir
al-Quran, History, Geography, Arabic, Art and Design, offer exam papers and
syllabuses unique to Brunei. Additionally, the Mathematics subject
previously offered an exam paper and a syllabus unique to Brunei, but this has
since been retired and the regular syllabus used worldwide is offered. This
is equivalent to secondary education now.
= India = In India, Cambridge International
Examinations GCE Ordinary Level qualifications are offered at private
and international schools as an alternative to the conventional Indian
School Certificate. = Malaysia =
In Malaysia, the O Level qualification is offered, with examinations conducted
by Cambridge International Examinations. The English Language subject was
previously offered with an exam paper and a syllabus unique to Malaysia, but
this Malaysia-specific qualification has since expired, and the regular English
Language exam paper and syllabus used worldwide is now used within the
country. = Mauritius =
In Mauritius, the O Level qualification is awarded as part of the School
Certificate, 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. The International General Certificate of
Secondary Education from Edexcel is also offered as an equivalent alternative
qualification, for which exam registration may be done through the
Mauritius Examinations Syndicate. A number of subjects, including English
Language, English Language, History, Mathematics, Mathematics, offer exam
papers and syllabuses unique to Mauritius. Additionally, the subject of
Art and Design, the offering of which is restricted to a limited geographic
region, is available in Mauritius. = Pakistan =
The GCE O Level qualification is offered in Pakistan by the CIE and conducted by
the British Council. O Level qualification has become a replacement
for the matriculation qualification offered by the Government boards of
education. Due to the high costs associated with O Level qualifications,
their reach is limited to middle to elite class families. It is common
knowledge that the CIE qualification are more rigorous than their alternatives
that exist in the country. = Seychelles =
In Seychelles, the O Level qualification is offered, with examinations conducted
by Cambridge International Examinations. Some subjects are unique to Seychelles
or have a format, curriculum, or syllabus that is unique to Seychelles.
= Singapore = In Singapore, the O Level qualification
is offered jointly by Cambridge International Examinations 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, Malay,
and Tamil, and also the Combined Humanities subject.
A number of subjects, including Arabic, Arabic as a Third Language, Art, Art,
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, Thai, and Urdu, offer exam papers and syllabuses
unique to Singapore. Additionally a number of subjects, including Additional
Mathematics, Biology, Biology, Chemistry, Chemistry, Commerce, Computer
Studies, Economics, Geography, History, History, Literature in English, Physics,
Physics, Science, Science, Science, previously offered exam papers and
syllabuses unique to Singapore, but these have since been retired or planned
to be phased out. = Sri Lanka =
The GCE Ordinary Level qualification is offered by the British council of Sri
Lanka School. Before, this qualification was jointly offered by Cambridge
International Examinations and the Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka.
= Zimbabwe = The GCE Ordinary Level qualification is
offered by the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council. Before, this
qualification was jointly offered by Cambridge International Examinations and
the Ministry of Education in Zimbabwe. Former usage
= Caribbean = The O Level qualification was previously
awarded in the Caribbean. However, many Caribbean countries have now switched to
awarding Caribbean Secondary Education Certification qualifications based on
successful completion of examinations administered by the Caribbean
Examinations Council. = Hong Kong =
The O Level qualification was previously awarded in Hong Kong, along with the
Hong Kong version of the A Level qualification. However, this was
replaced with the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination which was then
replaced with the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education. The HKCEE was
previously benchmarked against the O Levels for comparable subjects, but with
the introduction of the International General Certificate of Secondary
Education qualification the Hong Kong equivalent qualification was then
benchmarked against the IGCSE. = United Kingdom =
The GCE O Level qualification originated in the United Kingdom, where it was
awarded as the secondary school-leaving qualification. It was primarily an
examinations-based qualification, with a grading system that changed over the
years. In the United Kingdom, the O Level qualifications were replaced with
the General Certificate of Secondary Education and the International General
Certificate of Secondary Education. See also
GCE Ordinary Level GCE Ordinary Level
Ordinary Level Cambridge International Ordinary Level
Cambridge International O-Level subjects Certificate of Secondary Education
Certificate of Secondary Education(CSE) General Certificate of Secondary
Education, which replaced the O Levels and CSE
International General Certificate of Secondary Education, which is offered
with or instead of O Levels internationally
General Certificate of Education, which comprises O Levels and A-levels
School certificate, predecessor to the GCE O-Level and CSE qualifications
School Certificate School Certificate
School Certificate References