Royal College, Colombo
Royal College | |
---|---|
Location | |
Coordinates | 6°54′16″N 79°51′40″E / 6.90444°N 79.86111°E |
Information | |
Former names | Colombo Academy; Hill Street Academy |
School type | Public National school |
Motto | Floreat (Flourish) Disce aut discede (Learn or Depart) |
Established | January 1835 |
Founder | Joseph Marsh Robert Wilmot-Horton |
Principal | Thilak Waththuhewa |
Staff | 400 |
Grades | 1-13 |
Gender | Boys |
Age | 6 to 19 |
Enrolment | 9,000 |
Language | Sinhala, Tamil, English |
Colour(s) | Navy blue and royal gold |
Song | "School of our Fathers" |
Publication | Royal College Magazine, The Royalist |
Affiliation | Ministry of Education |
Alumni | Old Royalists |
Website | www |
Royal College, Colombo (
Royal College is the first
As a national school, it is funded by the government as opposed to the provincial council providing both primary and secondary education. The school was set as one of the most innovative educational institutions in the world at the fifth annual Worldwide Innovative Education Forum (IEF), organised by the Microsoft Corporation in 2009.[13]
The students of Royal College are known as Royalists[14][15] whilst past pupils are known as Old Royalists.[16] The school has produced many distinguished alumni, among whom are presidents of two countries,[17] a sultan,[18] and four prime ministers.[17]
College
Location
Situated in Cinnamon Gardens, a residential suburb of Colombo, it occupies an area of 15.6 hectares (39 acres) (with the sports complex) along the Rajakeeya Mawatha, bordered by Reid Avenue to the east; Kumarathunga Munidasa Mawatha (formally Thurstan Road) to the west and to the south its former premises, which now houses the Department of Mathematics of the University of Colombo. Adjacent to Royal College is Thurstan College (formerly the Government Senior School), which was established to accommodate the overflow of students from Royal Primary who could not gain admission to Royal College.[19]
Administration
The college is funded by the Ministry of Education, which appoints its principal. The principal is the head of the administration of the college and is assisted by a Senior Deputy Principal. The school is divided into four sections: the primary school (the former Royal College Preparatory School), middle school, upper-middle school and the upper school, each coming under a deputy principal (the head of the primary school is known as the headmaster/headmistress). The college educates close to 9,000 students in both secondary and primary education. Administration of the college hostel is carried out by the warden under the supervision of the principal and is assisted by a sub-warden.
Student Leadership
The senior prefects of the school also hold comparatively an important role in the school. Since they have completed their final examinations, they are senior to any other student of the college. Hence their disciplinary powers extend to all students of Royal College.
Admission
Admission to the school is among the most competitive in the country. It gets its highest number of applications for admission to grade 1 and the best 250 students from all over the country to enter the school in year 5 via the
Grounds
The school is located on 15.5 hectares (38 acres) where the primary school, the middle school and the upper school are located. It is equipped with
Sport plays a major part in Royal College's activities. The school's facilities include a swimming pool,[21] cricket and athletics grounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, and indoor cricket nets within the school premises. The Royal College Sports Complex and the rugby grounds are located a short distance from the college. The international standard sports complex, built in 2000, hosts national and school sporting events all year round.
War memorial
Situated in front of the main building, next to the main
Another memorial plaque is displayed in the entryway to the
History
In 1835,
Then in the following year in 1836,
In 1859 the Queen's College, Colombo was established as the first institution of higher education in Ceylon. Affiliated to the University of Calcutta, it prepared students from the Colombo Academy for entrance examinations of English universities.[28] In 1865 the Morgan Committee of inquiry into education recommended that it be reorganized and that scholarships should be awarded to study at the University of Oxford,[7] and as a result in 1869, Queen's College was amalgamated with the Colombo Academy.[29]
The first hostel of the Colombo Academy was established in San Sebastian in 1868, establishing it as one of the first boarding schools in Ceylon.
In 1881 it was renamed Royal College Colombo with the royal consent of
In 1911, work commenced on a
With the introduction of free education in Ceylon in 1931, Royal stopped charging fees from its students, thus proving education free of charge to this day.
In 1940 the school was again on the move this time due to the onset of World War II. The school was ordered to move out and the British Army moved in, establishing the Combined Military Hospital, Colombo[34] in the school buildings by 1941 and later covering it into a garrison. Principal E.L. Bradby made sure that education was carried on unhindered by moving the students into four private villas (known as bungalows in Ceylon) at Turret Street, Colombo: the Turret House, Carlton Lodge, Sudarshan House and Firdoshi House. In 1942 the 1–3 forms were shifted to Glendale bungalow at Bandarawela in the hill country.
Following a decree from the State Council of Ceylon in 1945, religious studies were started at the school.
In 1945, after the war ended, the school was relocated to its old home on Reid Avenue, Colombo, and the Hill School was closed down.
In August 1977, the Royal Preparatory School was amalgamated to Royal College forming the school's primary school. With it came the country's only national theatre at the time, the Navarangahala.
Five years earlier on 22 May 1972, the members of the
Since its establishment, the main medium of education had been English; however with Sinhala becoming the official language along with Tamil, the medium of education was changed to Sinhala and Tamil. In 2002 English was reintroduced as a medium of education at the college. Students may select one of the three languages in which to conduct their studies.
School traditions
The college's motto is
College song
The college song is "School of our Fathers", which is sung at the start of the school day and on important occasions. The words of the song were written by Major H. L. Reed, a principal of the school in 1927. The music was later revised by S. Schmid.
In 1968, a shorter version of the college song in Sinhala was composed on the instructions of the principal by the same people who composed the first song (W. A. Wickramasena and S. J. F. Dissanayake). It is played at the end of the school day.
Prefectorial system
In addition to the teachers, four categories[36] of senior boys are entitled to maintain school discipline. Boys who belong to the most senior category of student leaders prefects wear a silver college crest on their all-white uniform.
- Senior Prefect: A senior prefect is a member of the most senior prefectorial group of Royal College: The Prefects' Council. Selected based on the criteria of academics, co-curricular and extra-curricular, senior prefects are appointed on a probationary basis after completing the final exams at school (Neville Kanakeratne.
- Steward: selected from students in grade 12(senior) and After O/L period(junior), they assist the senior prefects to exercise discipline in Upper School (grades 10, 11).
- Junior Prefect: selected from students in grade 9 (grade 8, until 1998), their disciplinary powers are limited to the students of the Middle School (grades 6–9).
- Primary Prefect: selected from students in grade 5, their disciplinary powers are limited to the students of the Primary School (grades 1–5).[37]
Houses
The students are divided into five houses. Formally four houses were established in 1918 by Principal Hartley with the names Cinnamon Gardens, Bambalapitiya North and South, and Colpetty. They were renamed in 1921 by the principal, H. L Reed, with names derived from past headmasters and principals of the college. In 1970 the fifth house was established in memory of Reed. The houses are led by house captains and compete to win the inter-house games and house colours are awarded winners. The houses are:
House Name | House Colours | Established |
---|---|---|
Hartley House | Pink and blue
|
1918 |
Harward House | Pink and grey
|
1918 |
Marsh House | Pink and brown
|
1918 |
Boake House | Red and black
|
1918 |
Reed House | Red and white
|
1970 |
Awards
There are 165 endowed prizes and awards. The College Main Hall carries the names of those students who have won the Panel Prizes. The most coveted prize at Royal is the
These prizes are awarded at the prize-giving under the patronage of the President of Sri Lanka (earlier under the patronage of the Governor of Ceylon).
The Royal Crown, the most prestigious award a sportsman can achieve at Royal, is awarded each year at Colours Night to a sportsman who has made outstanding achievements in his field of sports. Colours are awarded to other players who have made significant contributions in the sporting arena.
Scholarship and prizes
Prize | Year of Institution |
Turnour Prize | 1846– |
Senior Mathematical Prize | 1846–1934 |
Shakespeare Prize | 1870–1932 |
English University Scholarship | 1870–1926 |
Lorensz Scholarship | 1876 |
Director's Prize | 1883–1921 |
De Soysa Science Prize | 1893 |
Sir James Peiris Memorial Prize | 1905 |
Donald Obeyesekere Prize | 1912 |
F Dadabhoy Memorial Prize | 1922 |
The Governor's Prize | 1922–1947 |
C M Fernando Memorial Prize | 1925 |
Harward Memorial Prize | 1926–1963 |
Steward's Prize | 1929 |
Dornhorst Memorial Prize | 1930 |
Gate Mudaliar R E Gooneratne Memorial Prize
|
1933 |
G L Rupasinghe Memorial Prize | 1934 |
Dr F E Weerasooriya Memorial Prize | 1934 |
Canon Lucien Jansz Memorial Prize | 1934 |
Atikar A Sellamuttu Prize | 1935 |
Ruby Andries Memorial Prize | 1935 |
Stubbs Prize | 1935–1970 |
Sir Edward Denham Memorial Prize | 1939 |
Dr C A Hewavitarane Memorial Prize | 1942 |
Cecil Perera Memorial Scholarship | 1944 |
The Governor General's Prize | 1947–1972 |
Peter De Abrew Memorial Scholarship | 1948 |
Dr H L H De Mel Memorial Prize | 1948 |
Earle De Zoysa Memorial Prize | 1952 |
P U Ratnaunga Prize | 1952 |
J N Jinendradasa Memorial Prize | 1954 |
E W Perera Memorial Memorial Scholarship | 1954 |
Dudley K G De Silva Prize | 1957 |
R H Wickramasinghe Memorial Prize | 1957 |
Tissa Wickramasinghe Memorial Prize | 1963 |
Amal De Mel Memorial Prize | 1966 |
Harsha Panditha Gunawardena Memorial Scholarship | 1967 |
T D Jayasooriaya Memorial Prize | 1970 |
Mudaliyar L C Wijesinghe Prize | 1970 |
The President's Prize | 1973 |
Omeon Mendis Memorial Scholarship | 1973 |
1927 Group Scholarship | 1978 |
George Rajapakse Memorial Scholarship
|
1973 |
Ajantha Wijesena Scholarship | 1978 |
Sir Henry De Mel Memorial Prize
|
1983 |
Lalith Athulathmudali Memorial Prize | 1994 |
J R Jayawardene Memorial Prize
|
1997 |
Trophies and sports scholarships
- Col. T.G. JayawardenaMemorial Shield
- Maalin Dias Sports Scholarship
- E L Bradby — J C A Corea Prize
- Grp. Capt. D.S. Wickremasinghe Memorial Prize
Sports and extracurricular activities
Sport is a major part of Royal College, with over 21 different sports played. Taking centre stage of the annual sporting calendar are the
. Royal College has always been in the top level of almost all school sports.Royal-Thomian
Cricket has been played at the school since 1838 and the Royal College Cricket Club was formed in 1878 by
Until 2006 the tally stood with both schools winning 33 each and 61 drawn. This is preceded by the Cycle Parade which usually happens on the day before the big match, with the official objective of visiting the captain's house to encourage him.
Royal-Trinity Bradby Shield Encounter
The annual
The Centenary match between the two schools was the second leg encounter played in 1983 – the Chief Guest was Mr. E. L. Bradby himself. The 2008 second leg match was the 150th match between the two schools.
The 2002 Bradby encounter was the highest-scoring encounter for Royal, led by Zulki Hamid, winning a record (39–00) in the first leg held in Colombo and winning the second leg (44–00) in Kandy, thus winning the Bradby Shield with a record aggregate of 83–00.
The 2009 Bradby first leg was won by Royal (23–12) in Kandy. The second leg was also won by Royal (31–15) in Colombo. Thus Royal won the Bradby for 2009 with an aggregate of 53–27.
Royal College rugby team has been the most dominating rugby team of the island of the 21st century.
Royal-Thomian Regatta
Royal was the first school to start its own rowing program in 1953. The Regatta is the annual
In 2007, under the captaincy of Maalik Aziz, Royal won the regatta with a record 40 points to nil, for the first time in its history. The Royal College Crew created records in all six events including a record for the Boat Race with a timing of 3 mins 11 secs (beating the previous record of 3 mins 19 secs).
Co-Curricular Activities
Clubs and societies
The college magazine and the Library Readers’ Association started in 1837. Today there are over 50 clubs and societies.[51]
Expeditions
Organized by the Adventure Club, students have undertaken several expeditions:
Music
The college has a strong association with the study of music, both
The annual musical festival SAGA organized by the School Development Society with the assistance of alumni has become an important event on Colombo's cultural calendar.[53]
Drama
Many plays are put on every year at Royal, organized by the English Drama Society (formally the Royal College Dramatic Society) and the Sinhala Drama Society. Sinhala and Tamil drama productions are hosted at the college's main theatre, the Navarangahala, which is specially designed for local drama and music which requires an open-air type auditorium in accordance to Natya Shastra. English language productions are hosted at the Lionel Wendt, which is near the school. The school's 'Little Theatre' is currently in use by the Royal College Film Society's screening of classical and contemporary films.[54] Productions are staged regularly by alumni, organized by the Old Royalists Association of Dramatists and the Royal College Union.[55]
Cadet Contingent
The Royal College Cadet Corps is the oldest school cadet contingent in Sri Lanka. It was the first cadet battalion to be formed in a school in
Both the Cadet Contingent and Senior Cadet Band Platoon have performed well, gaining claim as two of the finest units in the country. Over the years the Cadet Contingent has won the Hermann Loos Trophy in many years, and the Senior Cadet Band Platoon has won the Lt. Gen. T.I. Weerathunga Trophy ten times.
School magazines
The college magazine dates back to 1837
The Royalist is the school paper, published every year.
Principals and headmasters
Alumni
Past pupils of Royal College Colombo are known as Old Royalists, and include many distinguished figures. The school produced the first
Many of the prominent leaders of the
The school's alumni also include
-
J. R. Jayewardene, first Executive President of Sri Lanka
-
Ranil Wickramasinghe, current President of Sri Lanka
Royal College Union
The Royal College Union (RCU) is the
Royal and other schools
Royal College maintains a
In 1945, Minister of Education
Although there are several schools in the island which have adopted the name Royal College in the post-independence era even after Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972, none have links to Royal College Colombo.
In popular culture
- In Martin Wickramasinghe's novel Kaliyugaya which was made into a film by Lester James Peries, the character Allan is an old Royalist.
- In the last part of Carl Muller's trilogy Once Upon a Tender Time, the central character Carlaboy von Bloss of the final story studies at Royal.[61]
- In Nihal De Silva's novel The Giniralla Conspiracy, protagonist Mithra Dias studied at Royal College, as did antihero Kumudu Prasanna.
- In Martin Wickramasinghe's novel Yuganthaya which was made into a film by Lester James Peries, the character Malin is an old Royalist.
- In Madhubahashini Disanayaka Ratnayaka's novel There is Something I Have to Tell You, one of the main characters Janendra "Janu" Samarawickrama is an old Royalist.
Lineage
Hill Street Academy | |||||||||||||||
Colombo Academy | |||||||||||||||
Queens College | |||||||||||||||
Royal College Colombo | |||||||||||||||
Royal College | |||||||||||||||
Royal Preparatory School | |||||||||||||||
See also
Notes
References
- ^ ROYAL COLOMBO, AVE MARIA NEGOMBO OVERALL CHAMPS
- ^ Royal Colombo beat DSS by 90 runs
- ^ Army Boxers Clinch the 96th National Boxing Championship 2023
- ^ Chandrananda BC downs Colombo Royal
- ^ "We will learn of books and men and learn to play the game". The Island (Sri Lanka). 14 July 2012.
- Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 30 July 2006.
- ^ a b c Historical Overview of Education in Sri Lanka, The British Period: (1796–1948 ) Archived 2009-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "HNB launches revamped Student Savings Unit at Royal College". Daily News. 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ "Down the Royal lane". Daily News. 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ "Colombo Academy becomes Royal College". Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ISBN 9786249560406.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ "Sri Lanka's 'Eton' celebrates its 175th birthday". BBC News. 6 February 2010.
- Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 8 November 2009.
- ^ "The day the Royalists stole the Thomian Thunder: Guneratne Trophy '92". Daily FT. 14 July 2012.
- ^ Razak, Rukshan (1 July 2012). "Trinity retain the Bradby". The Island (Sri Lanka).
- ^ "Royal College fetes eminent past products". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). 1 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Youth who serve the nation can look back with pride in future – President".
- ^ a b Chris Abdul-Wahhab. "Maldive students at Royal College Colombo 1920s". Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
- ^ Thurstan College 55th Founder's Day - Jan. 11
- ^ Royal College among world's best schools: Royal remains supreme, by Samangie WETTIMUNY
- ^ Royal - from Beira Lake to man-made swimming pool
- ^ "Royal college salutes the Royalist war heroes, by Commodore Shemal Fernando, RSP, USP, MSc, psc, SLN".
- ^ "World War I: The Great War centenary". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ "We will learn of books and men and learn to play the game".
- ^ "First Headmaster".
- ^ "Those good ole days!".
- ^ Structure of the Education System Archived 2009-06-07 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry of Education
- ISBN 8180690423Accounting Education in South Asia]By K.R. Sharma. Pg:109
- ^ An epitome of English education in Sri Lanka
- ^ "Conquering the skies".
- ^ "Ceylon's first flights".
- ^ "House for a College and University: Its hundred years since its foundation laying".
- ^ Thurstan College 55th Founder's Day - Jan. 11 Archived 2007-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-1-912390-65-6.
- ^ May 22: Sri Lanka's Republic Day, Sundayobserver
- ^ PREFECTS AND STEWARDS
- ^ Devotion and sacrifice: secret of success, Head Prefect of Royal college speaks of his challenging school career
- ^ Ratnaweera, Karel Roberts (24 November 2002). "PM joins fellow Royalists in loyalty pledge". The Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 8 December 2002.
- ^ "Tamil Union felicitates Tambyah Murugaser". Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ^ "131st Battle Of The Blues".
- ^ "Returning to original sin: Whither Lanka's Test Cricket?".
- ^ "Unique stamp for a unique event".
- ^ "The College History". S. Thomas Old Boys Association. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ "OBA History". S. Thomas Old Boys Association. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ "Battle of the Blues". Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ "The Royal – Thomian - 130 Years on".
- ^ "S. Thomas' College" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ "Oldest Thomian Cricketer late Punchi Banda (Artie) Lankatilleke - JP".
- ^ "A Tribute to C.E.L. ("Kalla") De Silva on his 100th Birth Anniversary". Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ The Royal Thomian Derby Archived 2008-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Clubs & Societies - the Royal College". 8 July 2021.
- ^ "Himalayan expedition by Royal College Adventure Club students".
- ^ "Royal to present Saga V plus at BMICH". Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ On behalf of all her sons and daughters...
- ^ "Young Royalists take on the challenge of Jekyll and Hyd".
- ^ a b c d "A royal magazine".
- ^ Royal College Magazine Online Website Archived 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Royal College Magazine".
- ISBN 9781463418373
- ^ K. T. Rajasingham, Chapter 5: "Sri Lanka: the Untold Story", Asia Times Retrieved 7 November 2015
- ^ Sir Christopher Ondaatje looks back at the importance of Carl Muller's Trilogy
Further reading
- Perera, S. S., History of Royal College
- Fernando, M. L., History of Royal College – 1985 to 2010
- Seneviratne, D. L., The Royal College "School of our Fathers" (Colombo, Lake House)
- The History of Royal College: formerly called the Colombo Academy ( written by the Students of Royal College) (Colombo, H. W. Cave & Co.) 1932
- The History of Royal College (written by the Students of Royal College) 2nd Edition, (Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications) 2019
- Corporate Social Responsibility: [1]