St. Thomas' College, Matara

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St. Thomas' College (සාන්ත තෝමස් විද්‍යාලය) is a government-aided boys’ primary and secondary school in Matara, Sri Lanka founded in 1844. The college was initially a private Anglican school in Wellamadama, Dondra, established by Rev. Fr. N. J. Ondatjee, a missionary within the Christian Missionary Society of England.[1] As of May 2025,Script error: No such module "Unsubst". the college has approximately 3,600 enrolled students for primary and secondary education.[2]

History

St. Thomas' College was founded in 1844 by the Christian Missionary Society of England. A main focus of the missionary bodies in Sri Lanka during the early period of British rule in Ceylon was providing English education. As a result of this, St. Thomas' School later became a secondary school in 1914, as St. Thomas' College was established in a bungalow in the village of Wellamadama, the current location of the University of Ruhuna.[3]

The school was founded by one of the early Anglican missionaries, Rev. Fr. N. J. Ondatjee, in 1844 with several students and three teachers. Odantjee was later succeeded by others, including Kumaratunga Munidasa, who promoted Sinhala language and literature. In 1960, St. Thomas' College came under the control of the Government after a long period of missionary control. K. B. Jayasuriya became the first principal under government administration. J. E. M. Fernando, K. B. Jayasuriya and E. A. de L. W. Samarasinghe reactivated the college's old boys association, which was defunct after its inauguration by S. J. Gunasekeram in 1934. B. D. Jayasekera designed the college flag and the crest in the early 20th century.[1]

The Buddhist shrine room constructed at the college premises by the Old Boys Association in 1999 was inaugurated by Madihe Pannaseeha Thero, a Buddhist priest and also a former student of the college.[3]

The school has a long tradition of playing cricket and regularly competes in the St. Thomas'–St. Servatius Cricket Encounter, also known as the Southern Battle of the Blues. This is the second-oldest cricket encounter on the island, also known as the Southern Battle of the Blues or Battle of the Ruhunu.[3]

Past principals

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  • N. J. Ondatjee (1844–1848)
  • Abraham Dias Abeysinghe (1848–1852)
  • John Stevensen Lyle (1852 –1854)
  • F. H. De Winton (1854–1856)
  • Fedrick Dias Edirisinghe (1856–1858)
  • Quancy Adams (1858–1860)
  • Clement La–brooy (1860–1865)
  • A. W. Wijesinghe (1865–1866)
  • W.E.Ferdinando (1866–1872)
  • R.O. Macalam (1872–1878)
  • F.K. Dency (1878–1884)
  • J. W. Bultjens (1884–1890)
  • R. C. Reginold (1890–1896)
  • L. A. Arndt (1896–1902)
  • S. J. Gunasekeram (1902–1903)
  • C.P. Fernando (1903–1910)
  • J. C. Handy (1910–1915)
  • M. S. Solomon (1915–1925)
  • P.S.Adams (1925–1934)
  • C. C. P. Arulpragasam (1934–1944)
  • R. V. L. Pereira (1944–1952)
  • J. E. M. Fernando (1952–1959)

Government Principals

  • K. B. Jayasuriya (1960–1975)
  • E. A. De L. W. Samarasinghe (1975–1985)
  • B. G. Sisira (1985–1999)
  • Ratnasiri Suraweera (1999–2011)
  • W. B. Piyathissa (2011–2021)
  • T. L. Dayashantha (2021–2022 )
  • P. A. Weerakkodi (2022–2024)
  • Nayanapriya Perera (2024–present)

College anthem

The school song was composed by Leonard Archibald Arndt (1889–1955), the school's principal between 1931 and 1933.[4]

College houses

There are four student houses in the college, named after four past principals. They are:

  • Bultjens: Red <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 
  • Dias: Blue <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 
  • Ondatjee: Yellow <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 
  • Edirisinhe: Green <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> 

Sports

Cricket

The St. Thomas-St. Servatius cricket encounter,[5][6] also known as Battle of the Blues or Battle of the Ruhunu (රුහුණු මහා නිල් සටන), is the annual school cricket match played between St. Thomas' College, Matara, and St. Servatius' College since 1900. This is the second oldest cricket encounter in Sri Lanka.[7] Since the centenary match in 200, the meet-up has been played as a 3-day game.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Football

The annual Thomas-Rahula Football Encounter' or "Battle of Golden Ensigns" football match is played between St. Thomas' College, Matara, and Rahula College. It is one of the first annual inter-school football matches in Sri Lanka. Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Notable alumni

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Name Notability Reference
Politics
Script error: No such module "Sort". Ceylon's first Permanent Representative to United Nations, member Parliament Gampola (1947–1948) and Ceylon's High Commissioner to United Kingdom (1961–1963) [8]
Script error: No such module "Sort". Member Parliament Matara (1960) Founding member of the United National Party
Script error: No such module "Sort". Member Parliament Matara (1963–1977) and Minister of Education (1970–1977)
Script error: No such module "Sort". Member Parliament Matara (1994–2001, 2004–2019)
Script error: No such module "Sort". Member Parliament Matara (2019–present)
Public Services
Script error: No such module "Sort". Buddhist monk (head Amarapura sect 1969–2003)
Script error: No such module "Sort". President of the Senate of Ceylon (1960–1965), industrialist, philanthropist
Script error: No such module "Sort". Anglican Bishop of Colombo (1987–1992)
Script error: No such module "Sort". Sri Lankan notary public and musicologist
Arts
Script error: No such module "Sort". linguist, poet, author, journalist
Script error: No such module "Sort". Sri Lankan Actor, Script Writer, lyricist
Script error: No such module "Sort". Singer [9]
Script error: No such module "Sort". Film preservationist
Sports
Script error: No such module "Sort". International cricket player (1999–2000)
Script error: No such module "Sort". International cricket player (2001–2003)

See also

References

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  5. ↑ 124th Battle of the Blues St. Servatius’ favoured, aiming to break over five decade hoodoo
  6. ↑ Big Match: Matara's 118th Battle of the Blues begins
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links


Template:Education in Sri Lanka

Template:Authority control

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