St. Aloysius' College (Galle)

St. Aloysius' College

the current crest of the College
Latin: Certa Viriliter
("Strive Manfully”)
Location
Galle
Sri Lanka
Coordinates 6°2′9″N 80°12′44″E / 6.03583°N 80.21222°E / 6.03583; 80.21222Coordinates: 6°2′9″N 80°12′44″E / 6.03583°N 80.21222°E / 6.03583; 80.21222
Information
Type Started as a Private Catholic, Currently State Run
Established 1895
Founder Jesuit Fathers
Principal Ranjith Thilakarathna
Grades 1–13
Gender Boys
Number of students 4000
Color(s) Green and Gold
        
Head Prefect Gayan Chinthaka
Pupils Aloysian
Website http://www.sacgalle.sch.lk

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 fr: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.

History

St. Aloysius' College is situated on Mount Calvery, 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 (born on 9 March 1568). Saint Aloysius' is regarded as the 'Patron Saint of the Youth' by the Jesuits because of the heroic acts that he had performed when he was a young Jesuit helping Plague victims in Rome, Italy in 1587. After a few years helping plague victims, young Saint Aloysius died on 21 June 1591 at the age of 23 when he himself contracted the disease. St. Aloysius' College, Galle, is one of many schools named after Saint Aloysius.

Until the Sri Lankan government brought legislation for 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 4,000 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 Muslism.

College Crest's Elements

Center:IHS – Iesus Hominum Salvator("Jesus Savior of Mankind")
1.Elephant – Represents Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
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.

Sports

Sport is a major part of St.Aloysius College, with over 21 different sports played. Taking center stage of the annual sporting calendar are the St.Aloysius-Rahula (Big Match), Richmond College vs. St. Aloysius' College Annual Rugby Big Match. Other sports played at St.Aloysius include;

  • Wrestling
  • Rugby
  • Basketball
  • Cricket
  • Athletics
  • Boxing
  • Badminton
  • Chess
  • Cycling
  • Gymnastics
  • Football
  • Hockey
  • Rugby Football
  • Soccer
  • Swimming/Diving
  • Billiard/Snooker

Clubs and societies

List of Clubs and Associations in SAC|List of Clubs and Associations of Saint Aloysius College.

  • Board of Prefects
  • Army Cadet Platoon N.C.C
  • Cadet Band Platoon N.C.C
  • Navy Cadet Platoon N.C.C
  • St.John Ambulance First Aid Cadet
  • Interact Club
  • Art Society
  • Buddhist Society
  • Commerce Society
  • Computer Society
  • Robotics Club
  • English Literary Association
  • Environment Society
  • Drug Prevention Unit
  • Islam Society
  • Mass Media Unit
  • Oriental Music Group
  • Photographic Art Society
  • Science Society
  • Scouts Troop
  • Sinhala oratory and debating society
  • English Debating Society
  • Sinhala Literary Association
  • Western Music Band

Principals

Main Hall
Period Details
1910 – 1921 Rev. Fr. Dionysius Murphy S.J
1921 – 1925 Rev. Fr. John Delaney S.J
1925 – 1949 Rev. Fr. Ernest Gaspard S.J
1949 – 1962 Rev. Fr. Paul N. Peiris S.J
1963 – 1968 Rev. Fr. Caspersz S.J
1968 – 1970 Rev. Fr. Stephen Fernando S.J (Acting)
1970 – 1971 Rev. Fr. Caspersz S.J
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 (Acting)
2014 to present Ranjith Thilakarathne

Old Boys' Associations (OBA's)

There are a few branches of OBA's located all around the world.

Notable alumni

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
Name Year/degree Notability Reference
Sarachchandra, EdiriweeraEdiriweera Sarachchandra playwright, novelist, poet and literary critic
Ponnamperuma, CyrilCyril Ponnamperuma Scientist (Molecular Evolution) in Exobiology Division at NASA's Ames Research Center [1]
Alles, R. I. T.R. I. T. Alles educationist, founder of D. S. Senanayake College (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
Jayawardena, N. U.N. U. Jayawardena economist, Governor of the Central Bank of Ceylon (1953–1954)
Alles, A. C.A. C. Alles Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (1964–1974)
Kottegoda, ShanthaShantha Kottegoda General - Commander of the Army (2004–2005)
Gamage, LalithLalith Gamage President - Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Wikramanayake, GihanGihan Wikramanayake Director, University of Colombo School of Computing
Harischandra, D. V. J.D. V. J. Harischandra consultant psychiatrist, author, buddhist scholar
Amarasiri, Matarage SirisenaMatarage Sirisena Amarasiri Chief Minister of Southern Province (1998–1993), Governor of Uva (1999–2003)
Weerakkody, ChandimaChandima Weerakkody Member of Parliament (Galle) (2009–present)
Santha, SunilSunil Santha musician, composer, singer, lyricist
Denipitiya, PatrickPatrick Denipitiya songwriter, composer, music arranger, instrumentalist
Jayaweera, DilithDilith Jayaweera Chairman - George Steuart Group, Director - Citrus Leisure PLC, Managing Director - Triad (Pvt) Ltd
de Silva, ChathurangaChathuranga de Silva One Day International cricket player (2014)
Vithana, HarshaHarsha Vithana First class cricket player
de Silva, Mohan P.Mohan P. de Silva Member of Parliament (Galle) (2010–present)
Abeygunawardana, AsokaAsoka Abeygunawardana Chairman & CEO of Strategic Enterprise Management Agency at Presidential Secretariat,Sri Lanka

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cyril Ponnamperuma".
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