Back in the early 2000s, around 2003 to be exact, that’s when Edexcel really started taking off in Sri Lanka—and it did so exponentially. Private schools that were previously using either AQA or just the local Sri Lankan syllabus taught in English (what locals call “local English medium”) suddenly switched hard to the “London Syllabus” as their main selling point. It wasn’t just another option—it became their unique value proposition.
Everyone called it the “London Syllabus.” Still do. Ask any Sri Lankan who went through school between 2000 and 2015. They’ll say “London” or “Local.” That was all you needed to know.
It’s almost an unspoken rule in Sri Lanka: if someone is studying the “London Syllabus,” they’re assumed to be rich. People know the exam fees, the textbook costs, and—most of all—the school fees at these private institutions are multiple times higher than government schools teaching the “local syllabus.” You didn’t have to say anything. Your syllabus said it for you.
Technically, it was Edexcel IGCSE—International General Certificate of Secondary Education—and GCE A-Levels under Pearson. But nobody used those terms unless they were filling out a form. In real life? You were just “doing London.” Period.
“He’s going to Horizon International School Malabe and looking for Edexcel classes around Malabe, Rajagiriya, Colombo, Kaduwela
“I bet he is a rich spoiled kid who comes from rich parents”
How do I know this? because when I was young and still going to school I started finding it difficult to keep up with Mathematics. I felt like I was falling off and started to look for Edexcel classes in Malabe.
We had little luck because there were not so many Edexcel classes at the time, let alone in an area about an hour away from the city, but there was a “London Syllabus Center” in Battaramulla and Kaduwela, both centers in Battaramulla and Kaduwela conducted classes for Edexcel & Cambridge syllabus.
I was very pleased with the teaching, and then they opened up another branch in Malabe which was named something like “Edexcel Classes Center Malabe”, which if I’m being frank could have had a more creative name but it did work and it had the best teachers (hands down!).
That is the most normal assumption a local Sri Lankan, especially in Malabe, Kaduwela, Rajagiriya, Battaramulla & Colombo would make
I remember it clearly. Before class, someone would always ask, “You doing London or Local?” Like it decided your whole future right there. London meant you were aiming overseas—UK universities, maybe Australia. Local meant you were staying put—local universities, local path. Not better or worse, just different tracks.
Important side note: Throughout my whole childhood, I’ve heard that Edexcel students aren’t really welcome in Sri Lankan government-run universities. That’s why most students who want to study medicine—MBBS, the actual pathway to become a doctor—end up spending huge money on universities abroad.
Why? Because of the deeply rooted nationalist, anti-capitalist attitudes of the bureaucrats who control admissions in these public universities. There are only a handful of state universities in Sri Lanka that offer MBBS, and all of them are tightly controlled by the government. And they don’t favor students from private schools—even if those students scored top marks.
Nowhere is this written down officially. But it’s another one of those unspoken rules every Sri Lankan knows. Which makes the whole thing both funny and paradoxical: there’s no logical reason to reject a “London Syllabus” student’s academic results—except that they came from a private school and are seen as “rich.” So they might as well go study abroad at an expensive university, because they won’t get a fair shot locally anyway.
As you can already see, it’s also a status symbol—and that comes with its own perks.
But beyond the image, studying a more globally recognized syllabus like Edexcel actually gives you real advantages over the local curriculum. Better preparation for international degrees. More critical thinking. Less rote learning. And yeah—actual recognition outside Sri Lanka, which matters more and more as local opportunities shrink.
So while people joke about “London kids” being spoiled or out of touch, the truth is—they’re often just playing a different game.
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