S. Thomas' College, Gurutalawa

S.Thomas' College Gurutalawa
S.Thomas' College Gurutalawa
Location
	Gurutalawa, Welimada; Sri Lanka
Information
Type	Private
Motto	Esto Perpetua(Be Thou Forever)
Established	12 June 1942
Founder	Dr R.L. Hayman
Gender	Boys
Color(s)	Blue and Black
Affiliation	Anglican
Former pupils	Old Thomians
Website	https://www.stcguru.edu.lk

S. Thomas' College, Gurutalawa is a private school situated in the town of Gurutalawa in the Uva Province of Sri Lanka. It is an Anglican school administrated by the Church of Ceylon.^[2]

Administration

The College forms a branch of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, which is under the Anglican Church of Ceylon, is run by a Board of Governors which is chaired by the Anglican Bishop of Colombo, who is also known as the "Visitor of the College". The administration of the College in itself is headed by a headmaster who is an Anglican priest. Admission to the College is at the sole discretion of the headmaster.

Affiliations

History

S. Thomas' College in Gurutalawa was founded by Dr. R.L. Hayman in 1942,^[3]^[4] as a branch of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia. A farm with some land and buildings was donated to the college by Mr. & Mrs. Leslie de Saram.

Due to the Japanese war threats to Colombo, during World War II, the State Council decided in February 1942 to close all schools in the Colombo District. There were over 700 boys at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia and as the Warden explored possibilities of opening branches inland, Mr. and Mrs. Leslie De Seram made the generous offer of their 45-acre (180,000 m²) farm at Gurutalawa.

Current status

The College is a fully fledged school catering to extracurricular activities with a swimming pool and has facilities for nearly all sports including athletics, cricket, basketball, rugby, volleyball, squash, soccer, table tennis, hockey, badminton, swimming as well as activities like scouting, hiking and trekking. There is also the encouragement for a variety of societies and clubs, debating, oratory, oriental dancing and music.

Headmaster

Notable alumni

Bradmon Weerakoon - Civil Servant and served as the Secretary to the prime minister
General Ranjan Wijeratne - Former Cabinet Minister of foreign affairs, Minister of State for defense^[5]^[6]
Revd. Dr. Lakshman Wickremasinghe - Bishop in the Church of England and Human Rights activist
Buddhika Kurukularatne - Ex Member of Parliament, Attorney at Law, social worker and author
Sarath Muttetuwegama - Former Member of Parliament (Kalawana)
Lt. Colonel Chaminda Lamahewa - Commanding officer, 7th Battalion, Gemunu Watch during Battle of Mullaitivu (2009)

References

External links

6°50′38″N 80°54′05″E / 6.84389°N 80.90139°E / 6.84389; 80.90139

Dr W. R. L. Hayman D Phil (Oxon)	1942	1945
Mr C. H. L. Davidson, MA	1946	1947
Dr W. R. L. Hayman, D Phil (Oxon)	1948	1962
Rev. Canon A. J. Foster, MA (Oxon)	1963	1964 (Acting)
Mr A. K. Chapman, BSc	1965	(Acting)
Mr K. Dassanayake	1965	(Acting)
Dr F. Jayasinghe, BA (London), PhD	1965	1968
Mr E. L. Perera, BSc (London), 1st Class Trained	1968	1974
Mr M. L. C. Ilangakoon, BSc (London), AICTA	1975	1977
Mr S. C. H. De Silva, BA (London), Dip Ed. (Lond.), Dip in School Admin (Indiana)	1977	1981
Mr E. St. P. Gunawardene, BA (Cey.), Dip. Ed.	1982	1987
Mr. J. De S. Jayasinghe		(Acting)
Mr. J. B. Gunasegaram, BSc, Msc (NY), MIMech. E. (Lond.), FIE (SL), C. Eng.	1988	1989
Rev. Fr. H C Goodchild	1989	1990 (Acting)
Mr C. B. Ratnayake, BSc (Cey.), Trained	1990	1997
Mr L. A. M. Chandrasekera, BA (Hons. Econ), Dip. Ed.	1997	1999 (Acting)
Mr I. A. Fernando, BA	1999	2001
Mr G. C. Mendis, MA	2001	2003
Mr E. G. J. Canagasabey, BSc	2004	2006
Mr. J. Huyghebaert, MA	2007	(Acting)
Rev. N. M. P. Billimoria, BA (Poona), PG Dip. Theo. (Oxon.), Dip. Min. TG (Ripon-Cuddesdon)	2007	2012
Revd, Nihal Fernando, B.Phil,(Rome),B.Th,Rome,B.A.(SL), Dip.in Couns,(Dallas)	2012	2017
Ven.S.P.Nesakumar,B.Th (Serem), PG Dip in Edu (SL) MA (UJ), M.Min.(In) Dip in Ecum (Geneve)	2018	Present

[1] Thomian Society of Colombo Dinner Theatre , a resplendent evening

[2] Recollections of S. Thomas’ College, Gurutalawa

[3] The ever ministering angel

[4] The school in the hills

[5] Late Minister Mr. Ranjan Wijeratne

[6] All about General Ranjan Wijeratne Archived 2009-04-29 at the Wayback Machine

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