St. Thomas' College, Kotte

St. Thomas College
ශාන්ත තෝමස් විද්‍යාලය
St. Thomas College; ශාන්ත තෝමස් විද්‍යාලය
Location
	Sri Jayawardenepura (Kotte Road); Kotte; Sri Lanka
Coordinates	6°52′56″N 79°54′07″E / 6.88208658958°N 79.9019765854°E
Information
School type	National School
Motto	In Fide Et Justitia; (In Faith and Justice)
Established	8 May 1928; 96 years ago
Founder	Zacharias Dabrera
Principal	Nilantha Uduwaka
Grades	1–13
Gender	Mixed
Age range	2 to 19
Enrollment	1,400
Color(s)	Scarlet, white, and gold

St. Thomas College (Sinhala: ශාන්ත තෝමස් විද්‍යාලය) is a Catholic school in Kotte, Sri Lanka.^[2] A national school, it serves a mix of boys and girls, from grades 1 to 13.

History

St. Thomas' College was established by Rev. Father Zacharias Dabrera, OMI, and formally opened by Rev. Father J. B. Meary, OMI, on 8 May 1928, the feast-day of St. Michael the Archangel, with 53 students.^[3] The new school was set up in the small verandah of the mission house, Debrera's residence. As the number of students increased the two wings of the church were used as classrooms.^[4] The school was provisionally registered on 9 June 1928. In 2017 the school had 1,400 students and 70 staff.

Traditions

The school colours are scarlet, representing the love of work and sacrifice in the hearts of the pupils, white for the purity in their lives, and gold for perfection and success.

The school motto is Latin: In Fidia Et Justita.^[3]^{[better source needed]}

Sports and music

The school has produced many musicians and numerous outstanding cricketers.^[5]

Cricket

St Thomas' plays its annual Big Match, the Battle of Kotte, against Sri Jayawardenepura Maha Vidyalaya.^[6] The first Battle of Kotte was held in 1975 and has occurred on a regular basis for over forty years.^[7] Since 2007 both teams have also competed against each other in a one day match, for the Dr. G. N. Perera Memorial Trophy.^[8]

Notable alumni

Angeline Gunathilake, singer^[9]
Nalin Perera, 46th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka^[10]
Roger Seneviratne, actor, politician^[11]
Andy Solomons, first-class cricketer^{[citation needed]}
Chandimal Jayasinghe, beautician, director of Miss World (Sri Lanka)^{[citation needed]}

Notable staff

Maxwell Silva, former principal, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Colombo^[12]

References

^ "කෝට්ටේ ශාන්ත තෝමස් විදුහලේ සිසු නායක නායිකාවෝ නිල ලාංඡන පලඳිති" (in Sinhala). wijeya.lk. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
^ Anandappa, J. B. Clinton, ed. (1976). The Catholic Directory of Sri Lanka, [1975-1976]. Catholic Church. Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka. p. 503.
^ ^a ^b "St. Thomas' College Kotte celebrates 89th anniversary today". Daily Mirror. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^ Cabral, L.V. (27 July 2005). "Diamond Jubilee celebration of St. Thomas' College, Kotte". The Daily News.
^ Perera, S. S. (1999). Muthiah. S. (ed.). The Janashakthi Book of Sri Lanka Cricket, 1832-1996. Janashakthi Insurance. p. 274.
^ "'Battle of Kotte' commences today at Colts grounds". The Daily News. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^ "පාසල් ක්‍රිකට් පිටිය උණුසුම් කරන විශාල තරගය" (in Sinhala). Hiru News. 18 March 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
^ Perera, Herbert (16 March 2019). "Sri Jayawardenepura takes on Kotte Thomians in 12th one-day encounter". The Daily News. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
^ Perera, Chaminda (30 March 2019). "Veteran Singer Angeline Gunathilaka passes away". The Daily News. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^ Goonewardene, Devuni (12 October 2018). "SC judge Nalin Perera sworn in as new Chief Justice of Sri Lanka". News 1st (MBC Networks). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^ Wagista, Kumaradasa (28 February 1999). "Soldier Roger grows in stature". The sunday Times. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
^ "Appointment of Auxiliaries of the Archdiocese of Colombo". Agenzia Fides. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2021.

[1] "කෝට්ටේ ශාන්ත තෝමස් විදුහලේ සිසු නායක නායිකාවෝ නිල ලාංඡන පලඳිති" (in Sinhala). wijeya.lk. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.

[2] Anandappa, J. B. Clinton, ed. (1976). The Catholic Directory of Sri Lanka, [1975-1976]. Catholic Church. Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka. p. 503.

[DM2017-3] "St. Thomas' College Kotte celebrates 89th anniversary today". Daily Mirror. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

[4] Cabral, L.V. (27 July 2005). "Diamond Jubilee celebration of St. Thomas' College, Kotte". The Daily News.

[5] Perera, S. S. (1999). Muthiah. S. (ed.). The Janashakthi Book of Sri Lanka Cricket, 1832-1996. Janashakthi Insurance. p. 274.

[6] "'Battle of Kotte' commences today at Colts grounds". The Daily News. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

[7] "පාසල් ක්‍රිකට් පිටිය උණුසුම් කරන විශාල තරගය" (in Sinhala). Hiru News. 18 March 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2021.

[8] Perera, Herbert (16 March 2019). "Sri Jayawardenepura takes on Kotte Thomians in 12th one-day encounter". The Daily News. Retrieved 5 February 2021.

[9] Perera, Chaminda (30 March 2019). "Veteran Singer Angeline Gunathilaka passes away". The Daily News. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

[10] Goonewardene, Devuni (12 October 2018). "SC judge Nalin Perera sworn in as new Chief Justice of Sri Lanka". News 1st (MBC Networks). Retrieved 2 February 2021.

[11] Wagista, Kumaradasa (28 February 1999). "Soldier Roger grows in stature". The sunday Times. Retrieved 5 February 2021.

[12] "Appointment of Auxiliaries of the Archdiocese of Colombo". Agenzia Fides. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2021.

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