Royal College, Colombo

Founder Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, the Governor of Ceylon

Old College Building (1911–1921), now the University of Colombo

In 1835, Rev. Joseph Marsh started a private school at the back verandah of the church called the Hill Street Academy for twenty students from the upper class community situated at Hill Street, Pettah.[19]

Then in the following year in 1836, Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, the British Governor of Ceylon, based on the recommendations of the Colebrooke Commission, established the Colombo Academy,[3] as an English public school modeled on Eton College, with Marsh continuing as headmaster on government pay.[20] It was the oldest public school on the island and had the governor as its patron.[21] It gave the children of leading Ceylonese families an education which would make them fit to be citizens of the British Empire and served as the principal public school and a model for other government schools that were to be built in Ceylon.[22] In 1836 the school was moved to San Sebastian Hill, Pettah, (prior to which it was at Maradana, next to Hulftsdorp); it would stay there for another 75 years before being shifted to Thurstan Road. Even though the college had close ties to Anglicanism in its early years since 1836 it has remained a secular school.

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.[23] 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,[3] and as a result in 1869, Queen's College was amalgamated with the Colombo Academy.[24]

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 Queen Victoria. The Gazette notification giving Her Majesty's approval to change the name of the school appeared on 31 July 1881. The same year the first cadet battalion in Ceylon was formed at the college, attached to the Ceylon Light Infantry. The Royal College Union was formed in 1891 as the first alumni society in the country.

In 1911, work commenced on a new building for the school on Reid Avenue. In November 1911 during construction of this building, it was hit by an aircraft that was trying the establish the record for the first flight over Ceylon in November 1911.[25][26] On 27 August 1913 the school was moved to thin new building at Reid Avenue (which is now the main building of the University of Colombo).[27] Ten years later on 10 October 1923, the school moved, this time to the newly constructed Victorian styled building further down Reid Avenue, which it continues to occupy. This move was due to the suggestion made by a higher education committee in 1914, that Royal College should be converted into a University college. Due to the objections made by past pupils of the Royal College Union, especially by the speeches made by Frederick Dornhorst, KC, the then Governor of Ceylon, Lord Chalmers instead created a separate University College,[28] University College Colombo, at the school's former premises which became the University of Colombo in the later years.

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.

The Quadrangle.

The oldest building in school, the former hostel now houses the Grade 8 section.

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[29] 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 House of Representatives of the Dominion of Ceylon met at the Royal Primary School Hall (Navarangahala) and enacted the Republican Constitution that established the Republic of Sri Lanka.[30]

The college's motto is Disce aut Discede, meaning Learn or Depart in Latin. The motto is associated with the high academic standard maintained at the school for over 180 years. The first mentions of the motto appeared during the tenure of Principal George Todd (1871–1878). "Floreat", meaning "flourish" in Latin, has been a motto associated with the school since the founding of the Colombo Academy in 1836. It is derived from "Floreat Etona", the motto of Eton College on which the academy was modeled on at its formation.

One of the Boake Gates, adorned with the pre-1954 crest with the Tudor Crown.

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:

Interior of the Royal College Main Hall, listing the Panel Prizes on its walls.

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 Dornhorst Memorial Prize, awarded (since 1930) to the most popular student each year on the basis of votes, in memory of Frederick Dornhorst, KC, followed by the Lalith Athulathmudali Memorial Prize for the most outstanding Royalist of the year. The celebrated Turnour Prize, in memory of George Turnour, is the oldest of the panel prizes.[33] First awarded in 1846 to C. A. Lorensz, it is given annually to the best student in performance in academics. In 1876 another panel prize, the Lorensz Scholarship, was established. It is awarded annually to the best all-rounder with the best in performance in academics and sports.[34]

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.

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-Thomian (Big Match), the Bradby and the Regatta. Royal College has always been in the top level of almost all school sports.

Royal-Thomian

A Royal flag at the 128th Royal Thomian

Main article: Royal–Thomian

Cricket has been played at the school since 1838 and the Royal College Cricket Club was formed in 1878 by Ashley Walker. The annual cricket match, The Big Match, played against the school's traditional rival, S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia is the second-longest uninterrupted cricket match series in the world.[35] The original match was played between Colombo Academy and S. Thomas' College, Mutwal Modara in 1879, with schoolmasters participating as well as schoolboys. From 1880 onwards, only schoolboys were allowed to play in the match.[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]

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-Thomian Regatta

Royal (nearside) winning the Junior Pairs 2007 in a record time.

Main article: Royal Thomian Regatta

Royal was the first school to start its own rowing program in 1953. The Regatta is the annual regatta between Royal College and S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia. The Boat Race which is the event of a coxed four began in 1962. By 1966, it broadened out to give rise to the regatta having a card of six events, made up of 2 Single Sculls, 2 Coxless Pairs and 2 Coxed Fours. The events take place at the Beira lake (alongside the Colombo Rowing Club) in Colombo around October each year with the T. N. Fernando Trophy awarded to the overall winner.

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).

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 Ceylon in 1881, attached to the Ceylon Light Infantry soon after its own formation that year. Later named the Royal College Volunteer Corps, it was attached to the Ceylon Volunteers by the Volunteer Gazette of 1905. In 1979 a Senior Cadet Band Platoon was added. In 2007 Royal was one of two schools to establish the first Air Force Cadet platoons in the country.

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.

The college magazine dates back to 1837[51] when The Colombo Academy Miscellany and Juvenile Repository was published on a monthly basis[51] during the time of headmaster Rev. Joseph Marsh. The Royal College Magazine, the official school magazine, was first published in 1893 and was printed at the Times of Ceylon Press. Its first editor was E. W. Perera. The magazine was published until the 1970s by the school press,[51] edited by students. Its publication resumed in 1993 and has continued since. [51][52] Its editors include J. R. Jayawardene, Christopher Weeramantry, Lalith Athulathmudali, M. C. Sansoni, N. E. Weerasooriya, F. C. de Saram, Pieter Keuneman, Lakshman Wickremasinghe, Neville Kanakeratne and B St. E de Bruin.[53]

The Royalist is the school paper, published every year.

The principal's Mansion.

The Rev. J.H. Marsh, Snr served as the first headmaster of the Colombo Academy. With the appointments of J.F. Haslam in 1948 the post of the head of the academy was renamed the principal, which continues to this day. J.C.A. Corea became the first Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) principal when he took office in 1946.

Past pupils of Royal College Colombo are known as Old Royalists, and include many distinguished figures. The school produced the first Executive President of Sri Lanka J. R. Jayewardene the last Sultan of the Maldives Muhammad Fareed Didi;[14], the current President Ranil Wickremasinghe and four Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka, including General Sir John Kotalawela, Ranil Wickremesinghe and the current Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena as well as the first Ceylonese Acting Governor, Sir James Peiris.[54][55]

Many of the prominent leaders of the independence movement in the early twentieth century, including Anagarika Dharmapala, E. W. Perera, Sir James Peiris, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan and C. A. Hewavitharne, were educated at the Colombo Academy.

The school's alumni also include Shirley Amerasinghe (President of the United Nations General Assembly), Gamani Corea (Secretary-General of the UNCTD), Christopher Weeramantry (Vice President of the International Court of Justice), Sir Nicholas Attygalle (first Sri Lankan vice chancellor), V. K. Samaranayake (founder of the UCSC), Mohan Munasinghe (Vice Chairman of the IPCC) and General Deshamanya Sepala Attygalle (first Sri Lankan four-star general).

• 
  Anagarika Dharmapala
• 
  Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan
• 
  Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam
• 
  J. R. Jayewardene, first Executive President of Sri Lanka
• 
  Ranil Wickramasinghe, current President of Sri Lanka

The Royal College Union (RCU) is the alumni society (old boys' association) for the college. Founded in 1891, it is the oldest and most important such alumni society in Sri Lanka. The Royal College Union was set up to further the interests of the college and its past and present members, and to keep former pupils in touch with each other and with the school. Annually the RCU organizes many sporting events including the Royal-Thomian, the Bradby Shield Encounter, the Royal Thomian Regatta, as well as national initiatives such as EDEX (the biggest educational fair in the island) and carrying out development projects for the college.

Royal College maintains a century old rivalry with S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia as well as close ties with Trinity College, Kandy.

In 1945, Minister of Education C. W. W. Kannangara began the establishment of central colleges (Madhya Maha Vidhyala) as part of the Free Education policy to provide secondary education for the rural masses. He modeled these schools on the general structure of Royal College.

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 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.[56]
• 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.

• Education in Sri Lanka
• National Cadet Corps
• List of Ceylonese organizations with royal prefix

• 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:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal College, Colombo.

• Official website
• Royal College Union