Blog

Sri Lanka All Island Schools’ Western Music & Dance Competition — Western Music and Dance for Schools, Junior, Senior and Open Groups, Fourteen Items

Sri Lanka All Island Schools' Western Music & Dance Competition: The Sri Lanka Ministry of Education's national schools competition (Circular 08/2025),...

e By Luke Justin October 20, 2026 4 min read

New here? Start with the basicsAge groups, competition categories and how to set up your event.

Academic & Youth Fair · School Music & Dance

The Sri Lanka Ministry of Education’s national schools competition (Circular 08/2025), run Provincial then National: 14 Western music and dance items – Vocal, Recorder and Piano solos, Choir, Recorder, Melodica and Mixed Instrumental groups, Guitar Ensemble, Piano Accordion, Chamber Group, Wind Bands, Orchestra and Western Dance – for Junior (Grade 6-9), Senior (Grade 10-13) and Open groups, with the 10-minute time limit. No marking scheme is printed, so no judging criteria are installed.

Sets up a national schools’ Western music and dance competition: fourteen items from vocal, recorder and piano solos to choirs, ensembles, wind bands, an orchestra and Western dance, with Junior, Senior and Open groups, a 10-minute limit and places for the top three.

This template rebuilds a national schools’ Western music and dance competition from Sri Lanka, run every year by the education ministry together with the provincial education offices. Schools compete in a provincial round first and then in a national final. A coordinator opens an event that already carries the item list, the group structure and the placings, instead of a blank catalogue. It suits a school network, a district or a province that wants to run a Western music and dance day, and it adapts to any schools’ contest that mixes solo, ensemble and dance entries.

The programme has fourteen items. Four are solos or small-instrument classes: Vocal Solo, Recorder Solo and Piano Solo, plus the Choir. The ensemble classes are Recorder Group, Melodica Group, Mixed Instrumental Group, Guitar Ensemble, Piano Accordion Group and Chamber Group. Larger bands follow: Standard Wind Band, General Wind Band and Classical Orchestra. The programme closes with Western Dance, which in the source is limited to English country dances and line dances. Each item has its own page on this site covering how a round runs and what an entry looks like.

Entrants are grouped by school grade. Junior is Grade 6 to 9 and Senior is Grade 10 to 13; the template models these as ages 11 to 14 and 15 to 18, with the grade restriction carried on each group, because the source prints no ages. Group items also have an Open Group that combines all age groups. Solos are entered as Junior Solo and Senior Solo, and group items as Junior Group, Senior Group or Open Group. Boys and girls are entered together, and every item carries the same 10-minute limit, which counts the walk on to the stage.

Results are placings: first, second and third. The source prints no points for each placing and no marking scheme, so the template installs the three placings with zero points and every item is marked out of 100 as a default. No judging criteria are installed, because none are printed. An organiser who wants criteria can add the panel’s own sheet in the software before the day. Several rules in the source are not modelled: the two school categories, entry caps per school, group-size limits, set and choice pieces, the dress code and the provincial-to-national qualification.

Where this event comes from

The competition is an annual national schools’ programme; this template follows the 2025 edition of its circular, with a provincial stage from 1 May 2025 and a national stage from 20 May 2025.

Where this event is run

Sri Lanka, in government, semi-government, private and international schools, with the competition moving from the provincial round to the national final. The structure suits any organiser running a school Western music and dance contest with a mix of solos, groups and bands. It is less suited to a festival that needs published marking criteria, points per placing or a long list of folk and classical items.

Sri Lanka (national schools’ competition)

Key facts

Fourteen items: three solos, a choir, six small ensembles, two wind bands, an orchestra and Western dance
Junior (Grade 6-9), Senior (Grade 10-13) and, for group items, Open groups combining all ages
Boys and girls compete together in every item
A 10-minute limit on every item, including stage entry, with a penalty for overrunning that the source does not size
Top three placings per item, installed with zero points because none are printed; items marked out of 100 by default
Judging criteria, entry caps, group-size limits and the provincial-to-national qualification are not modelled

Age groups: 5
Competition items: 14
Competitions: 27
Grade bands: 0
Rank awards: 3

Age groups

Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.

Junior Solo

11From

–

14To

Candidates aged 11 to 14 compete in this group

Senior Solo

15From

–

18To

Candidates aged 15 to 18 compete in this group

Junior Group

11From

–

14To

Candidates aged 11 to 14 compete in this group

Senior Group

15From

–

18To

Candidates aged 15 to 18 compete in this group

Open Group

11From

–

18To

Candidates aged 11 to 18 compete in this group

Competition items

The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.

Competitions by group

The full schedule matrix, sectioned by age group then category — which item runs for whom, and for how long.

Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Junior Solo
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Vocal Solo	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Recorder Solo	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Piano Solo	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Senior Solo
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Vocal Solo	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Recorder Solo	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Piano Solo	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Junior Group
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Choir	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Recorder Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Melodica Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Mixed Instrumental Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Western Dance	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Senior Group
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Choir	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Recorder Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Melodica Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Mixed Instrumental Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Western Dance	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Open Group
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Choir	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Recorder Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Melodica Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Mixed Instrumental Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Guitar Ensemble	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Piano Accordion Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Chamber Group	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Standard Wind Band	Team	—	—	100	10 min
General Wind Band	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Classical Orchestra	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Western Dance	Team	—	—	100	10 min

Grades and ranks

How scores turn into grade bands, and how many points each placing is worth.

Grade	For	Condition	Score	Points

Rank	For	Points
First		0
Second		0
Third		0

Frequently asked questions

Can I change this template after installing it?

Yes — installing it creates a fully configured, live event, not a locked package. Every age group, competition item, rule and scoring setting can be edited afterwards to match exactly what your event actually needs.