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St. Thomas' College, Matara

Coordinates: 5°56′54″N 80°32′38″E / 5.94833°N 80.54389°E / 5.94833; 80.54389
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St. Thomas' College
Location
Map
Matara

Sri Lanka
Coordinates5°56′54″N 80°32′38″E / 5.94833°N 80.54389°E / 5.94833; 80.54389
Information
TypeNational school
MottoPerseverando Vinces (Perseverance conquers all)
Religious affiliationAnglican Church of Ceylon
Established9 March 1844; 181 years ago (1844-03-09)
FounderN. J. Ondatjee
AuthorityMinistry of Education
PrincipalG. T. Nayanapriya Perera
Staff144
GradesPrimary to GCE A/L
GenderBoys
Age6 to 19
Enrollment3,600
ColoursBrown  
light blue  
Song"Saint Thomas' forever"[1]
RivalSt. Servatius' College Rahula College
Websitestcmatara.lk

St. Thomas' College (සාන්ත තෝමස් විද්‍යාලය) is a government-aided boys' primary and secondary school in Matara, Sri Lanka. The college was established by Rev. Fr. N. J. Ondatjee, a missionary of the Christian Missionary Society of England in Wellamadama, Dondra.[2] As of May 2025, the college has approximately 3,600 enrolled students for primary and secondary education.[3]

History

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St. Thomas' College was founded on 9 March 1844 by the Christian Missionary Society of England.[4] 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, 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.[5]

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 taught the 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 the government administration. J. E. M. Fernando, K. B. Jayasuriya and E. A. de L. W. Samarasinghe reactivated the college's old boys (i.e., alumni) 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.[2]

A Buddhist shrine room was constructed at the college premises by the Old Boys Association in 1999. It was inaugurated by Madihe Pannaseeha Thero, a Buddhist priest and former student of the college.[5]

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

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The school song was composed by Leonard Archibald Arndt (1889–1955), the school's principal between 1931 and 1933.[6]

College houses

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

  • Bultjens: Red  
  • Dias: Blue  
  • Ondatjee: Yellow  
  • Edirisinhe: Green  

Sports

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The St. Thomas-St. Servatius cricket encounter,[7][8] also known as "Battle of the Blues" or "Battle of the Ruhunu" (රුහුණු මහා නිල් සටන), is an annual school cricket match played between St. Thomas' College, Matara, and St. Servatius' College since 1900. It is the second-oldest cricket encounter in Sri Lanka.[9] A football match is played between St. Thomas' College, Matara, and Rahula College annually.

Notable alumni

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See also: Category: Alumni of St. Thomas' College, Matara

List of alumni of St. Thomas' College, Matara;

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.
Name Notability Reference
Politics
Senerat Gunewardene Ceylon's first Permanent Representative to United Nations, member Parliament Gampola (1947–1948) and Ceylon's High Commissioner to United Kingdom (1961–1963) [10][11]
Justin Wijayawardhene Member Parliament Matara (1960) Founding member of the United National Party [12][13]
Badi-ud-din Mahmud Member Parliament Matara (1963–1977) and Minister of Education (1970–1977) [14]
Chandrasiri Gajadeera Member Parliament Matara (1994–2001, 2004–2019)
Weerasumana Weerasinghe Member Parliament Matara (2019–present) [15]
Public Services
Madihe Pannaseeha Thero Buddhist monk (head Amarapura sect 1969–2003) [16][17]
Cyril de Zoysa President of the Senate of Ceylon (1960–1965), industrialist, philanthropist [18]
Jabez Gnanapragasam Anglican Bishop of Colombo (1987–1992)
P. B. Illangasinghe Sri Lankan notary public and musicologist
Arts
Kumaratunga Munidasa linguist, poet, author, journalist
W Jayasiri Sri Lankan Actor, Script Writer, lyricist
Desmond de Silva Singer [19]
Tissa Nagodavithana Film preservationist
Sports
Indika de Saram International cricket player (1999–2000) [20]
Prabath Nissanka International cricket player (2001–2003) [21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "School Song". Thomians' Science Society. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b de Silva, Kamal (10 March 2004). "S. Thomas' College Matara is 160". The Daily News. Archived from the original on 18 February 2005. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  3. ^ "About Us – St. Thomas' College, Matara". St. Thomas' College Matara. March 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  4. ^ "The Principal's Message - St. Thomas' College, Matara". 16 January 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b "History – St. Thomas' College, Matara". 16 January 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Sri Lanka Burgher Family Genealo". www.worldgenweb.org. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  7. ^ 124th Battle of the Blues St. Servatius’ favoured, aiming to break over five decade hoodoo
  8. ^ Big Match: Matara's 118th Battle of the Blues begins
  9. ^ Dhananjan, Kevin (23 March 2023). "The Southern Blues; A medieval tussle". ThePapare. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Our Heritage – How the Soviet Union kept on vetoing". The Sunday Times. 14 December 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Ceylon's Permanent Representative Presents Credentials". Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Appreciation: Justin Wijayawardhena". The Island. 10 January 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  13. ^ Parliaments of Ceylon. Associated Newspapers of Ceylon. 1960. p. 95.
  14. ^ "Hon. Dr. Badiuddin Mahmud, M.P. – Directory of Members". Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  15. ^ "Get to know your new parliamentarians". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  16. ^ Wimalaratne, K. D. G. (21 June 2003). "90th birth anniversary of Madihe Pannasiha Maha nayaka Thera today : The beacon of the Buddha Sasana". Daily News - features. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon. Archived from the original on 6 January 2005. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  17. ^ Peiris, Manjari (21 June 2002). "Ven. Madihe Pannaseeha Thera is 90 today". Daily News. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  18. ^ "Sir Cyril de Zoysa – Buddhist Renaissance Leader". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  19. ^ memes127en (9 January 2022). "Desmond de Silva dead and obituary, Legendary singer Desmond de Silva passes away". MRandom News. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Indika de Saram – Player Profile". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  21. ^ https://www.sundaytimes.lk/111211/Sports/spt05.html
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