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47-580: The original match was played between the Colombo Academy and S. Thomas' College, Mutwal in 1879, with schoolmasters and schoolboys participating. Mr. Ashley Walker captained the Colombo Academy while Rev. S. J. Meyrick, a member of the staff played for S. Thomas' College, Mutwal . This encounter is not considered the first match as Masters played for both sides. In 1880, only the students took part and this first official encounter between

94-593: A sultan , and four prime ministers. Situated in Cinnamon Gardens, a residential suburb of Colombo, it occupies an area of 15.6 hectares (39 acres) (with the sports complex) along the Rajakeeya Mawatha, bordered by Reid Avenue to the east; Kumarathunga Munidasa Mawatha (formally Thurstan Road) to the west and to the south its former premises, which now houses the Department of Mathematics of

141-525: A branch network of three constituent colleges with a total of over 5,500 students. It was the first schoolboy cricket match in Sri Lanka to be played over three days. The Royal-Thomian is the second-longest uninterrupted Cricket series in the entire world, preceded only by the Cricket Intercol played between Prince Alfred College, Adelaide and St. Peter's College, Adelaide , whose first match

188-695: A private school at the back verandah of the church called the Hill Street Academy for twenty students from the upper class community situated at Hill Street, Pettah . Then in the following year in 1836, Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton , the British Governor of Ceylon , based on the recommendations of the Colebrooke Commission , established the Colombo Academy, as an English public school modeled on Eton College , with Marsh continuing as headmaster on government pay. It

235-560: A record aggregate of 83–00. The 2009 Bradby first leg was won by Royal (23–12) in Kandy. The second leg was also won by Royal (31–15) in Colombo. Thus Royal won the Bradby for 2009 with an aggregate of 53–27. Royal College rugby team has been the most dominating rugby team of the island in the 21st century. Royal was the first school to start its own rowing program in 1953. The Regatta is

282-484: A silver college crest on their all-white uniform. The students are divided into five houses . Formally four houses were established in 1918 by Principal Hartley with the names Cinnamon Gardens, Bambalapitiya North and South, and Colpetty. They were renamed in 1921 by the principal, H. L Reed, with names derived from past headmasters and principals of the college. In 1970 the fifth house was established in memory of Reed. The houses are led by house captains and compete to win

329-578: A sportsman who has made outstanding achievements in his field of sports. Colours are awarded to other players who have made significant contributions in the sporting arena. Sport is a major part of Royal College, with over 21 different sports played. Taking centre stage of the annual sporting calendar is the Royal-Thomian ( Big Match ), the Bradby and the Regatta . Royal College has always been at

376-502: Is Disce aut Discede , meaning "learn or depart" in Latin . The motto is associated with the high academic standard maintained at the school for over 180 years. The first mentions of the motto appeared during the tenure of principal George Todd (1871–1878). "Floreat", meaning "flourish" in Latin, has been a motto associated with the school since the founding of the Colombo Academy in 1836. It

423-402: Is a familiar sight during match days. The match is looked forward to by both the young and old, male and female, and even those who have no connection with either school turn up and enjoy the celebrations. It is more of an occasion for the old boys and present students of both schools coming together for three days of revelry. It is quite normal to see elderly alumni from either school coming to

470-427: Is assisted by a Senior Deputy Principal. The school is divided into four sections: the primary school (the former Royal College Preparatory School ), middle school, upper-middle school and the upper school, each coming under a deputy principal (the head of the primary school is known as the headmaster/headmistress). The college educates close to 9,000 students in both secondary and primary education. The administration of

517-399: Is derived from "Floreat Etona", the motto of Eton College on which the academy was modeled on at its formation. The college song is "School of our Fathers", which is sung at the start of the school day and on important occasions. The words of the song were written by Major H. L. Reed, a principal of the school in 1927. The music was later revised by S. Schmid. In 1968, a shorter version of

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564-473: The Big Match . Souvenirs published by both the schools are sold on all three days, the duty of distribution entrusted to the souvenir committees. On the day before the match, the students of each school take a walk around the city in a "cycle parade" with bands and decorations and other colourful items showing support for their team. Overloaded cars with supporters singing and careering along the Colombo streets

611-737: The British public school tradition, based on the recommendations of the Colebrooke Cameron Commission (1833), and having been named the Royal College, Colombo in 1881 with consent from Queen Victoria , it became the first school to gain the prefix, "Royal", outside of the British Isles and it was one of the first schools to be designated as a national school by the Sri Lankan Government in

658-631: The Navarangahala , bearing the names of 47 Old Royalists who were killed in action in the civil war. The first War Memorial Panel of the college was unveiled in the second term of 1933, by Sir Graeme Tyrrell , Chief Secretary of Ceylon commemorating Old Royalists who had died or were decorated during the Great War . Of the 330 Ceylonese who volunteered for service in the Great War, 88 were from Royal College. In 1835, Joseph Marsh started

705-472: The Republic of Sri Lanka . Since its establishment, the main medium of education had been English ; however with Sinhala becoming the official language along with Tamil , the medium of education was changed to Sinhala and Tamil. In 2002 English was reintroduced as a medium of education at the college. Students may select one of the three languages in which to conduct their studies. The college's motto

752-748: The Royal Preparatory School was amalgamated into Royal College forming the school's primary school. With it came the country's only national theatre at the time, the Navarangahala . Five years earlier on 22 May 1972, the members of the House of Representatives of the Dominion of Ceylon met at the Royal Primary School Hall (Navarangahala) and enacted the Republican Constitution that established

799-567: The University of Colombo ). Ten years later on 10 October 1923, the school moved, this time to the newly constructed Victorian styled building further down Reid Avenue, which it continues to occupy. This move was due to the suggestion made by a higher education committee in 1914, that Royal College should be converted into a University college . Due to the objections made by past pupils of the Royal College Union , especially by

846-533: The University of Colombo . Adjacent to Royal College is Thurstan College (formerly the Government Senior School), which was established to accommodate the overflow of students from Royal Primary who could not gain admission to Royal College. The college is funded by the Ministry of Education , which appoints its principal. The principal is the head of the administration of the college and

893-507: The " Big Match " to relive old times and meet old friends. Some expatriates choose this time of year to return to Sri Lanka in order to relive their old school days. Source: Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo , Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal ) is a boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo , Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh in 1835, it

940-631: The 1980s. As a national school, it is funded by the government as opposed to the provincial council providing both primary and secondary education. The school was set as one of the most innovative educational institutions in the world at the fifth annual Worldwide Innovative Education Forum (IEF), organised by the Microsoft Corporation in 2009. The students of Royal College are known as Royalists whilst past pupils are known as Old Royalists . The school has produced many distinguished alumni , among whom are presidents of two countries,

987-519: The College Hall and the Navarangahala , a national theatre. The school hostel is located within the school grounds and it accommodates students from outside Colombo, with around 230 hostelers. Sport plays a major part in Royal College's activities. The school's facilities include a swimming pool, cricket and athletics grounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, and indoor cricket nets within the school premises. The Royal College Sports Complex and

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1034-597: The Colombo Academy and S. Thomas' College, Mutwal in Modara was played at Galle Face Grounds, which is today the site of the Taj Samudra Hotel. The match commenced at 4.00 p.m. each day. The Beira Lake stretched up to the present railway line close to San Sebastian Hill and the two teams rowed across in boats to the Galle Face Grounds. The Academy made 110 in the first inning; and St. Thomas' 59. In

1081-568: The Colombo Academy for entrance examinations of English universities. In 1865 the Morgan Committee of inquiry into education recommended that it be reorganized and that scholarships should be awarded to study at the University of Oxford , and as a result in 1869, Queen's College was amalgamated with the Colombo Academy. The first hostel of the Colombo Academy was established in San Sebastian in 1868, establishing it as one of

1128-604: The Lorensz Scholarship, was established. It is awarded annually to the best all-rounder with the best in performance in academics and sports. These prizes are awarded at the prize-giving under the patronage of the President of Sri Lanka (earlier under the patronage of the Governor of Ceylon ). The Royal Crown, the most prestigious award a sportsman can achieve at Royal, is awarded each year at Colours Night to

1175-741: The T. N. Fernando Trophy awarded to the overall winner. In 2007, under the captaincy of Maalik Aziz, Royal won the regatta with a record 40 points to nil, for the first time in its history. The Royal College Crew created records in all six events including a record for the Boat Race with a timing of 3 mins 11 secs (beating the previous record of 3 mins 19 secs). The college magazine and the Library Readers’ Association started in 1837. Today there are over 50 clubs and societies. Lists of schools in Sri Lanka The following

1222-611: The Turret House, Carlton Lodge, Sudarshan House and Firdoshi House. In 1942 the 1–3 forms were shifted to Glendale bungalow at Bandarawela in the hill country. Following a decree from the State Council of Ceylon in 1945, religious studies were started at the school. In 1945, after the war ended, the school was relocated to its old home on Reid Avenue, Colombo, and the Hill School was closed down. In August 1977,

1269-539: The annual regatta between Royal College and S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia . The Boat Race which is the event of a coxed four began in 1962. By 1966, it broadened out to give rise to the regatta having a card of six events, made up of 2 Single Sculls, 2 Coxless Pairs and 2 Coxed Fours. The events take place at the Beira Lake (alongside the Colombo Rowing Club ) in Colombo around October each year with

1316-405: The college hostel is carried out by the warden under the supervision of the principal and is assisted by a sub-warden. The senior prefects of the school also hold comparatively an important role in the school. Since they have completed their final examinations, they are senior to any other student of the college. Hence their disciplinary powers extend to all students of Royal College. Admission to

1363-455: The college song in Sinhala was composed on the instructions of the principal by the same people who composed the first song (W. A. Wickramasena and S. J. F. Dissanayake). It is played at the end of the school day. In addition to the teachers, four categories of senior boys are entitled to maintain school discipline. Boys who belong to the most senior category of student leaders prefects wear

1410-538: The first boarding schools in Ceylon. In 1881 it was renamed Royal College Colombo with the royal consent of Queen Victoria . The Gazette notification giving Her Majesty's approval to change the name of the school appeared on 31 July 1881. The same year the first cadet battalion in Ceylon was formed at the college, attached to the Ceylon Light Infantry . The Royal College Union was formed in 1891 as

1457-462: The first alumni society in the country. In 1911, work commenced on a new building for the school on Reid Avenue. In November 1911 during construction of this building, it was hit by an aircraft that was trying the establish the record for the first flight over Ceylon in November 1911. On 27 August 1913 the school was moved to thin new building at Reid Avenue (which is now the main building of

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1504-602: The inter-house games and house colours are awarded winners. The houses are:                     There are 165 endowed prizes and awards. The College Main Hall carries the names of those students who have won the Panel Prizes. The most coveted prize at Royal is the Dornhorst Memorial Prize , awarded (since 1930) to

1551-524: The match. Until 2006 the tally stood with both schools winning 33 each and 61 drawn. This is preceded by the Cycle Parade which usually happens on the day before the big match, with the official objective of visiting the captain's house to encourage him. The annual rugby encounter against friendly rival Trinity College, Kandy is the Blue Riband of schools' rugby in Sri Lanka. Rugby

1598-531: The most popular student each year on the basis of votes, in memory of Frederick Dornhorst , KC , followed by the Lalith Athulathmudali Memorial Prize for the most outstanding Royalist of the year. The celebrated Turnour Prize, in memory of George Turnour , is the oldest of the panel prizes. First awarded in 1846 to C. A. Lorensz , it is given annually to the best student in performance in academics. In 1876 another panel prize,

1645-540: The rugby grounds are located a short distance from the college. The international standard sports complex, built in 2000, hosts national and school sporting events all year round. Situated in front of the main building, next to the main Boake Gates , is the memorial to Old Royalists who died in the two World Wars and the Sri Lankan Civil War . Another memorial plaque is displayed in the entryway to

1692-489: The school is among the most competitive in the country. It gets its highest number of applications for admission to grade 1 and the best 250 students from all over the country to enter the school in year 5 via the grade 5 scholarship examination . The school is located on 15.5 hectares (38 acres) where the primary school, the middle school and the upper school are located. It is equipped with lecture halls , science and computer laboratories , and auditoriums . This includes

1739-644: The school was again on the move this time due to the onset of World War II . The school was ordered to move out and the British Army moved in, establishing the Combined Military Hospital, Colombo in the school buildings by 1941 and later covering it into a garrison. Principal E.L. Bradby made sure that education was carried on unhindered by moving the students into four private villas (known as bungalows in Ceylon) at Turret Street, Colombo:

1786-563: The second innings the Academy made 35 and St. Thomas' 24. J. W. de Silva was the Academy captain and F. W. McDonnell the Thomian captain. In this first encounter Colombo Academy won by 62 runs. At present, the match is played between Royal College, Colombo which is a public non-denominational school accommodating approximately 8,500 students and S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia which is a private Anglican school that has about 2500 boys on roll and

1833-473: The shield after winning the 144th Battle of the Blues in 2023. The "Battle of the Blues" is filled with pageantry, with decorated tents, flags and baila singing and dancing groups present all around the city and the ground itself during the match days and in the days leading up to it. The match is held on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday. By tradition, the schools are closed on match days to allow students to attend

1880-436: The speeches made by Frederick Dornhorst , KC , the then Governor of Ceylon, Lord Chalmers instead created a separate University College, University College Colombo , at the school's former premises which became the University of Colombo in the later years. With the introduction of free education in Ceylon in 1931, Royal stopped charging fees from its students, thus providing education free of charge to this day. In 1940

1927-668: The top level of almost all school sports. Cricket has been played at the school since 1838 and the Royal College Cricket Club was formed in 1878 by Ashley Walker . The annual cricket match, The Big Match , played against the school's traditional rival , S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia is the second-longest uninterrupted cricket match series in the world. The original match was played between Colombo Academy and S. Thomas' College, Mutwal Modara in 1879, with schoolmasters participating as well as schoolboys. From 1880 onwards, only schoolboys were allowed to play in

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1974-539: The two schools was the second leg encounter played in 1983 – the Chief Guest was Mr. E. L. Bradby himself. The 2008  second-leg match was the 150th match between the two schools. The 2002 Bradby encounter was the highest-scoring encounter for Royal, led by Zulki Hamid, winning a record (39–00) in the first leg held in Colombo and winning the second leg (44–00) in Kandy, thus winning the Bradby Shield with

2021-470: Was at Maradana, next to Hulftsdorp); it would stay there for another 75 years before being shifted to Thurstan Road. Even though the college had close ties to Anglicanism in its early years since 1836 it has remained a secular school . In 1859 the Queen's College, Colombo was established as the first institution of higher education in Ceylon. Affiliated to the University of Calcutta , it prepared students from

2068-461: Was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in January 1836, as part of the implementation of the recommendations of the Colebrooke Cameron Commission (1833), and was the first government-run secondary school for boys in the country. Royal College is the first public school in Sri Lanka and is often referred to as the " Eton of Sri Lanka". The school was founded in

2115-428: Was introduced at Royal in 1916, and the first historic match against Trinity was played in 1920. The Bradby Shield was first presented in 1945 by the departing Principal of Royal College, E. L. Bradby. Since 1945, two matches have taken place each year, one in Kandy and the other in Colombo. The Shield is awarded to the school that gets the highest aggregate of points in the two-match series. The Centenary match between

2162-400: Was played in 1878. This match is played for the prestigious D. S. Senanayake Memorial Shield. Incidentally, Rt. Hon. D. S. Senanayake , who became the first Prime Minister of Independent Ceylon, donned the Thomian cap in 1901 and 1902. This shield was first presented in 1928. If a match is drawn then the school already holding the shield retains it. Royal College is the current holder of

2209-469: Was the oldest public school on the island and had the governor as its patron. It gave the children of leading Ceylonese families an education which would make them fit to be citizens of the British Empire and served as the principal public school and a model for other government schools that were to be built in Ceylon. In 1836 the school was moved to San Sebastian Hill, Pettah , (prior to which it

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