St. Servatius' College

St. Servatius' College is a boys' school located in Matara, Sri Lanka. Initially founded by a group of Jesuit fathers in 1897, the high school was nationalised in the 1960s, and is now run as a state school.

St. Servatius College
Location
St. Servatius College
Location in Sri Lanka
St Servatius' Road, Kotuwegoda

Matara

Sri Lanka
Coordinates5.943903°N 80.551987°E / 5.943903; 80.551987
Information
TypeNational
MottoBe a Man
Established1897 (1897)
PrincipalH.K LASANTHA VIRAJITH
Grades1–13
Number of students2,500+
Color(s)Green and white
         

History

St. Servatius' College was founded when the Bishop of Galle, Joseph Van Reeth(in French), wanted to create an educational infrastructure in the newly-established diocese, and called on the Belgian Jesuits for help.[1] Father Augustus Standaert, among others, arrived in Galle in 1896, and on 2 November 1897, the priests opened an English medium school on a small plot of land on the banks of the River Nilwala in Pallimulla, Matara. The school opened with five students in 1896, and within two years it had grown to accommodate 54 students.

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 school adopted the name of this patron saint: St. Servatius, a 4th-century Belgian missionary, and one of the first bishops in the area around Tongeren, Maastricht, and Liège.

After some years the school was moved to its present location in Kotuwegoda, Matara. In 1961, as part of a government program to take over private schools, the school was adopted by the Ministry of Education, although it remained administered by Roman Catholic fathers until 1965.

Currently, over 2,500 students are enrolled at St. Servatius' College. The school employs over one hundred staff, led by Principal M. Rathnasekara. It was made a Sri Lankan national school in 1993.[2]

Principals
  Name Period
01. Rev. Fr. Augustus Standaert 1897–1901
02. Rev. Fr. Adolph Closset 1901–1905
03. Rev. Fr. Anthony Weapon 1905
04. Rev. Fr. W. Wickramasinghe 1905–1910
05. Rev. Fr. A. Beernaert 1910
06. 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 1947–1966
19. S. E. Munaweera 1967–1968
20. J. Shelton De Silva 1968–1970
21. S. K. H. Jayawardena 1970–1971
22. G. L. Galappaththi 1971–1985
23. K. A. Dharmadasa 1985–1986
24. M. J. Gunasekera 1987–1997
25. A. H. N. Jayaweera 1997
26. M. G. R. M. Wijesinghe 1997–1998
27. D. Jayaweera 1998–2000
28. W. Somawantha 2000–2001
29. Kodippili 2001–2002
30. D. Vidanapathirana 2002–2008
31. Nimalsiri Wanigabadhu 2008–2012
32. Ashoka Kumara 2012 – April 2013
33. K. Ranasinha April 2013 – October 2014
34. M. Rathnasekara October 2014 – 2018
35. K. H. L. M. Kawshalya 2018 – present

College houses

College house names are listed in alphabetical order.

  • Adolfast: green     
  • Bearnard: yellow     
  • Standart: red     
  • Walter: blue     

St. Thomas'–St. Servatius Cricket Encounter
Main article: St. Thomas'–St. Servatius Cricket Encounter

The St. Thomas'–St. Servatius Cricket Encounter, known as the Battle of the Blues, is the annual cricket match played between St. Servatius' College and St. Thomas' College, Matara. The match has been played since 1900, and is the second-oldest school cricket series in Sri Lanka.

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 Notability Reference
Sanath Jayasuriya International cricket player (1991–2007), Member of Parliament for Matara (2010–2015) [3]
Ruchira Palliyaguruge First-class cricketer (1989–2008), International cricket umpire (2011–2018) [4]
Kasun Rajitha International cricketer (2016–present) [5]

References
  1. "The history of St. Servatius College".
  2. "The College History and the Present". Wordpress. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  3. St. Servatius Matara is in the process of team building, The Sunday Times
  4. St. Thomas’ have the edge over St. Servatius, The Sunday Times
  5. Kasun Rajitha profile in ESPNcricinfo, Cricinfo
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