St. Servatius' College
| St. Servatius College. Matara. | |
|---|---|
|
Crest of the College Be a Man | |
| Location | |
|
Matara Sri Lanka  | |
| Information | |
| Type | All-Boys government school |
| Established | 1897 |
| Principal | K.Ranasinghe |
| Grades | 1–13 |
| Number of students | Over 2500 |
| Color(s) |
Green and White |
| Website | www.servatiuscollege.com |
St. Servatius' College is a boys' school located in the Matara District, the southern-most District of Sri Lanka's. Founded by Jesuit fathers in 1897 the high school was nationalized in the 1970s and is now run as a government school.
History
The beginning of the St. Servatius'[1] college goes back on well in the course of 100 years. The bishop of Galle, Joseph Van Reeth wishing to develop education in his newly erected diocese called on the Belgian Jesuits to come to his help. Father Augustus Standaert and a few others arrived in Galle in 1896, and the 2 November 1897, opened an English medium school on a small block of the land at the bank of River Nilwala in Pallimulla, Matara. The school opened with 5 students... By 1898 the students were already 54.
In August 1898 a new structure was erected for the school. As the construction funds came from the St Servatius Jesuit school of Liège (Belgium) the Matara new school adopted the same patron saint and was named after St. Servatius. Saint Servatius was a 4th-century missionary in Belgium and one of the first bishops of the area Tongeren-Maastricht-Liège. A popular figure, much devotion to his memory and veneration to his name developed after his death.
After some years the school was exchanged to the present position where the school stands in Kotuwegoda, Matara. In 1961 with taking over from private schools to the government this college was taken over by the education department and until 1965 administer by Catholic Fathers
The original St. Servatius has been built by Servatius in to the Nilwala river much closer position. It has been laid later by the present meeting place under the clientele the Jesuit missionaries who cleared the way for English medium education in Ceylon, then (Sri Lanka)
St. Servatius college Today
Today St. Servatius college is home to over 2500 students and is guided by over one hundred staff, led by principal Mr. Nimalsiri Wanigabaduge. St. Servatius college has been the Sri Lankan national schools in the foremost row.
Principals
| Name | Period | |
|---|---|---|
| 01. | Rev. Fr. Augustus Standaert | 1897 – 1901 |
| 02. | Rev. Fr. Adolph Closset | 1901 – 1905 |
| 03. | Rev. Fr. Anth Weapon | 1905 |
| 04. | Rev. Fr. W. Wickramasinghe | 1905 – 1910 |
| 05. | Rev. Fr. A. Beernaert | 1910 |
| 06. | Mr. Samson Costa | Unknown |
| 07. | Rev. Fr. E. Frutsaert | 1922 |
| 08. | Rev. Fr. Olivier Feron | 1922 – 1930 |
| 09. | Rev. Fr. S.G. Perera | Unknown |
| 10. | Rev. Fr. S. Crubg | Unknown |
| 11. | Rev. Fr. E. Bastineer | Unknown |
| 12. | Rev. Fr. Terrence De Silva | 1930 – 1933 |
| 13. | Rev. Fr. Mark Anthony Fernando | Unknown |
| 14. | Rev. Fr. P.M. Baguet | 1942 – 1945 |
| 15. | Rev. Fr. Angia | 1945 |
| 16. | Rev. Fr. Alles | 1945 |
| 17. | Rev. Fr. C. Guida | 1945 – 1947 |
| 18. | Rev. Fr. Rajapakse J. | 1947 – 1966 |
| 19. | Mr. S. E. Munaweera | 1967 – 1968 |
| 20. | Mr. J. Shelton De Silva | 1968 – 1970 |
| 21. | Mr. S.K.H. Jayawardena | 1970 – 1971 |
| 22. | Mr. G. L. Galappaththi | 1971 – 1985 |
| 23. | Mr. K. A. Dharmadasa | 1985– 1986 |
| 24. | Mr. M. J. Gunasekera | 1987 – 1997 |
| 25. | Mr. A. H. N. Jayaweera | 1997 |
| 26. | Mr. M. G. R. M. Wijesinghe | 1997 – 1998 |
| 27. | Mr. D. Jayaweera | 1998 – 2000 |
| 28. | Mr. W. Somawantha | 2000 – 2001 |
| 29. | Mr. Kodippili | 2001 – 2002 |
| 30. | Mr. D. Vidanapathirana | 2002 – 2008 |
| 31. | Mr. Nimalsiri wanigabadhu | 2008 – 2012 |
| 32. | Mrs. Ashoka kumara | 2012 – 2013 April |
| 33. | Mr. K.Ranasinha | 2013 April – 2014 Octomber |
| 34. | Mr. M.Rathnasekara | 2014 Octomber – present |
College Houses
College Houses' names Listed in the alphabetical order.
- Adolfast Colour : Green
- Bearnard Colour : Yellow
- Standart Colour : Red
- Walter Colour : Blue
St. Servatius–St. Thomas' Cricket Encounter
St. Servatius–St. Thomas' Cricket Encounter known as the Battle of the Blues (Matara) is the annual cricket match played between St. Servatius' College Matara and St. Thomas' College, Matara.
Notable alumni
- Sanath Jayasuriya[2] - Former captain of the Sri Lankan national cricket team & Chief Selector of Sri Lanka Cricket, Former deputy Minister of Posrtal services and MP.
- Ruchira Palliyaguru[3] - Former Sri Lankan cricketer and International cricket umpire.
References
- ↑ "The history of St. Servatius College".
- ↑ St. Servatius Matara is in the process of team building, The Sunday Times
- ↑ St. Thomas’ have the edge over St. Servatius, The Sunday Times