St. Aloysius' College, Galle
St. Aloysius' College is a boys' high school located in Galle, the capital city of Southern Province in Sri Lanka. The school was established in 1895 by recently arrived Belgian Jesuit missionaries, led by Joseph Van Reeth, first bishop of Galle. St. Aloysius' College is a national school, which provides primary and secondary education. In 2012, it had 4,000 students on its roll.
| St. Aloysius' College, Galle | |
|---|---|
 School crest | |
| Location | |
| , Sri Lanka | |
| Coordinates | 6°2′9″N 80°12′44″E |
| Information | |
| Type | National secondary education school |
| Motto | Latin: Certa Viriliter Strive Manfully |
| Established | 1895 |
| Founder | Society of Jesus |
| Principal | Anura Gamage |
| Grades | 1–13 |
| Gender | boys |
| Number of students | 5,000 |
| Colour(s) | Green and gold |
| Nickname of Students | Aloysian |
| Website | www |
History
St. Aloysius' College is situated on Mount Calvary, neighbouring St. Mary's Cathedral on one side and Sacred Heart Convent on the other. The college was established in 1895 by Belgian Jesuit fathers and was named after the Jesuit Saint, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. St. Aloysius' College, Galle, is one of many schools named St Aloysius' College.
Until the Sri Lankan government passed legislation for the nationalisation of schools in the island (with an exception of only a few schools), St. Aloysius' College was run by Jesuit Fathers and the medium of instruction was English. The first Buddhist principal was appointed in the year 1971 and subsequently the medium of instruction was changed to Sinhala.
College today
The college provides education to 5000 students from grade 1 to grade 13. The students of the school fall into diverse religious groups where over 90 percent of students are Buddhists and the others are Christian (or Catholic) and Muslim.
College Crest's elements
Centre: IHS – Iesus Hominum Salvator("Jesus Saviour of Mankind")
1. The Tusker – Courage
2. Lilies – Purity of conscience
3. Torch – Torch of learning
4. Rooster – Symbol of Galle
College houses
Students represent five houses that are named after Jesuit Fathers who were pioneers in developing the school in its early days. Students are divided into houses according to their admission number.
- -Cooreman
- -Murphy
- -Neut
- -Standaert
- -Vanreeth
Sports
Sports is a major part of St. Aloysius’ College. Cricket, Basketball, Rugby, Football, Hockey and Swimming are some of the sports among over 20 sports in College. Among all of them, Rugby takes a prominent role as it has a history starting from 1980s. As a foot step of that, with the motto ‘‘ Born with the Stuff ’’ Rugby was introduced at St. Aloysius’ in latter part of 1980s. The first historic match was played in 1992 against Richmond College. Taking centre stage of the annual sporting calendar are the St. Aloysius' - Richmond Rugby Encounter.
Principals
| Period | Principal |
|---|---|
| 1896 – 1910 | Joseph Van Reeth |
| 1910 – 1921 | Dionysius Murphy |
| 1921 – 1925 | John Delaney |
| 1925 – 1949 | Ernest Gaspard |
| 1949 – 1962 | Paul Nazarine Peiris |
| 1963 – 1968 | Paul Caspersz |
| 1968 – 1970 | Stephen Fernando (acting) |
| 1970 – 1971 | Paul Caspersz |
| 13 June 1971 – 1 April 1972 | B. K. Silva |
| 1 April 1972 – 28 February 1973 | Dunstan Fernando |
| 28 February 1973 – 3 August 1973 | J. B. Varnakulasingham (acting) |
| 3 August 1973 – 22 December 1975 | L. D. P. Jayasinghe |
| 22 December 1975 – 25 May 1976 | A. B. J. L. Fernando (acting) |
| 25 May 1976 – 7 January 1987 | D. Y. Wijewickrama |
| 7 January 1987 – 1996 | A. V. Illeperuma |
| 1996 – 2004 | N. K. Ariyawansa |
| 2004 –2004 | Nandasena Pathirana (acting) |
| 2004 – 2014 | D. P. L. S. Gunasekara |
| 2014 - 2014 | Piyasiri Kumarage (acting) |
| 2014 - 2017 October | Ranjith Thilakarathne |
| 2017 - 2017 | L.P.Weeraman (acting) |
| 2017–2020 | Nayanapriya Perera |
| 2020–Present | Anura Gamage |
Old Boys' associations
There are a number of branches of the school's Old Boys’ Association located all around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Qatar and the United Kingdom.
Notable alumni
| Name | Notability | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ediriweera Sarachchandra | playwright, novelist, poet and literary critic | |
| Cyril Ponnamperuma | Scientist (Molecular Evolution) in Exobiology Division at NASA's Ames Research Center | [1] |
| R. I. T. Alles | educationist, founder of D. S. Senanayake College (Colombo, Sri Lanka) | |
| N. U. Jayawardena | economist, Governor of the Central Bank of Ceylon (1953–1954) | |
| A. C. Alles | Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (1964–1974) | |
| Shantha Kottegoda | General - Commander of the Army (2004–2005) | |
| Lalith Gamage | President - Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology | |
| Gihan Wikramanayake | Director, University of Colombo School of Computing | |
| D. V. J. Harischandra | consultant psychiatrist, author, buddhist scholar | |
| Matarage Sirisena Amarasiri | Chief Minister of Southern Province (1998–1993), Governor of Uva (1999–2003) | |
| Chandima Weerakkody | Member of Parliament (Galle) (2009–present) | |
| Sunil Santha | musician, composer, singer, lyricist | |
| A. R. M. Thassim | business owner, philanthropist, Mayor of Galle (1950–51; 1954–62) | [2] |
| Patrick Denipitiya | songwriter, composer, music arranger, instrumentalist | |
| Dilith Jayaweera | Chairman - George Steuart Group, Director - Citrus Leisure PLC, Managing Director - Triad (Pvt) Ltd | |
| Chathuranga de Silva | One Day International cricket player (2014) | |
| Harsha Vithana | First class cricket player | |
| Mohan P. de Silva | Member of Parliament (Galle) (2010–present) | |
| Asoka Abeygunawardana | Chairman, CEO of Strategic Enterprise Management Agency at Presidential Secretariat |
References
- "Cyril Ponnamperuma".
- The Aloysian, 1915-1990: Diamond Jubilee Souvenir. St. Aloysius' College. 1990. p. 93.
