Estimates are that headache occurs in up to 25% of younger children and 75% of adolescent. Though, there are many studies about childhood primary headache internationally, childhood primary headaches has not been investigated in Sri Lanka previously.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of headache and types of headache among school children of 11-16 years in Polonnaruwa district, Sri Lanka.

Method: In this is cross sectional study, study population was school children aged 11-16 years in Polonnaruwa district. A self administered questionnaire and a clinical examination was used to collect data. The diagnosis of Migraine and tension headache was based on The Second Edition of the International Headache Society’s International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD 11 – published on 2004).

Results: A total of 606 students aging 11 to 16 years participated in the study. Except a 5.3%, all others experienced headache at least once during their lifetime, 89.3% during past 12 months. On-going treatment for headache seen in 2.5%. Recurrent headaches of > 3 months occurred in 39.8%;  majority of them, (86.3%) visited the hospital for clinical interview.

Based on the International Headache Society Classification, the prevalence of migraine in this study sample was 7.75%. Of the 47 students who had migraine, 25 (53.2%) had aura. Migraine type headache was more common among girls (9.12%).

Conclusions: Majority of these school children from a rural district in Sri Lanka experienced headache; Migraine type headache in 7.7 percent.