Sri Sumangala College (), in
Panadura
Panadura (; ) is a main city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province in Sri Lanka.
It is located approximately south of Colombo.
Panadura was an electoral district in Sri Lanka until 1989 and is surrounded all sides b ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, was founded on 3 March 1909 at Rankoth Viharaya, in memory of Ven.
Weligama Sri Sumangala
Weligama Sri Sumangala Thero (1825-1905) was an outstanding scholar bhikkhu with many important publications -Hitopadsesa Atthadassi, Hitopadsesa Padarthavykanaya, Upadesa Vinischaya, Siddanta Sekaraya. His work Siddhanta Sekharaya of 700 pages wa ...
Thero
''Thero'' (commonly appearing in the masculine and feminine forms ''thera'' and ''therī'' respectively) is an honorific term in Pali for senior bhikkhus and bhikkhunis (Buddhist monks and nuns) in the Buddhist monastic order. The word literall ...
, who played an important role in
Sri Lankan Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism is the largest and official religion of Sri Lanka, practiced by 70.2% of the population as of 2012. Practitioners of Sri Lankan Buddhism can be found amongst the majority Sinhalese population as well as among the minority ...
.
It is one of the oldest and the largest schools in Sri Lanka with a student population of 4,000 over 13 Grades. It is a
national school, controlled by the central government.
History
In 1911 when this school was registered as an assisted school there were 325 students on roll.
The first principal was Thomas E. Gunarathne.
The land for the school was donated by the Rankoth Viharaya while the buildings were constructed out of public funds. The school was managed by a Board of Management and funds for the running of the school were met by philanthropists and the general public.

Due to the rapid expansion of the college the Rankoth Viharaya premises became congested and there was the necessity to re-locate the college. The manager of the Board of Management tried to relocate to Walawa Waththa in 1942,
where Sri Sumangala College is presently located. When this failed, the management decided to shift the college to Nalluruwa. The first old boy of the college, Walter Salgado, donated the land for the main buildings and M. C. Fernando donated about to be used as the playground of the college.
The main hall of the building complex was donated by
Leo Fernando
Sir Leo Fernando, (18 November 1895 – 30 November 1954) was a Ceylonese businessman and politician. He was a member of parliament for the Buttala Electoral District.
Business career
Warusahennedige Leo Fernando was born on 18 November 1895 ...
; physics, chemistry and biology laboratories were donated by P. C. H. Dias and the main building and the class rooms were built with public donations.
All the classes from grade six upwards were taken to Nalluruwa new buildings on 7 August 1942. Grades 3, 4 and 5 were continued at the Rankoth Viharaya premises and it was popularly called town branch of the college. The principal or the head of this section was A. C. Morawaka who served the college until his retirement.
With the transfer of the college to Nalluruwa it became one of the leading educational institutions where laboratory facilities were available for the students to do science subjects in the medium of English.
Advance level students of the Sri Sumangala Girls School used the laboratories in the afternoons to do their practicals. The plot of land between the main college and the play ground was eventually acquired by the Education Department.
In 1961 a large number of schools were taken over by the government and the town branch was registered as a separate school with a principal being appointed by the Education Department. A precedent was created to admit all the children who leave town branch after they passed the grade five test. In 1992 due to inclement weather the retaining wall of the Rankoth Viharaya collapsed damaging the main hall of the town branch. The school had to be kept closed for a few months. The Old Boys Association, parents and well wishers constructed 18 semi-permanent class rooms and the Town Branch was amalgamated to the main college.
On 25 May 1993 the College was declared a National School by the Ministry of Education.
On 26 December 2004 the
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
which destroyed the southern and eastern coastal areas damaged part of the semi-permanent buildings of the college. The
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicenter, epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Submarine earthquake, undersea ...
struck during a school vacation so no injuries were recorded.
All together 182 schools were damaged by the
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
. Out of these damaged school the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
has decided to re-locate 98 schools including Sri Sumangala College. Donor partner JICA
granted a Rs. 330 million loan to build a completely new school with all the modern facilities.
It is a coincidence of fate that the Sri Sumangala College has to be moved to a location five decades later that the Board of Management had initially planned on in 1942, before finally settling for the site in Nalluruwa.
Founders
* Ven. Gnanawimalathissa Maha Thero (lived in
Panadura
Panadura (; ) is a main city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province in Sri Lanka.
It is located approximately south of Colombo.
Panadura was an electoral district in Sri Lanka until 1989 and is surrounded all sides b ...
''Rankoth Viharaya'')
* Ven. Walpita Gunarathana Thissabidana Amarapura Maha Nikaye Thero
Houses
The college has four houses, named after
kings of Sri Lanka. The four Houses with their associated colours are:
Notable alumni
Notable former students of Sri Sumangala College (known as Old Sumangalians), include:
Principals
Following is a list of past
Principals of the Sri Sumangala College;
Sri Sumangala College Old Boys
The Sri Sumangala College Old Boys Association, also known as the Old Boys’ Association of Sri Sumangala College, Panadura (SSCOBA), was established on 28 October 1922.
References
External links
Official Web site of Sri Sumangala College''Old Boys' Association''of Sri Sumangala College – SSCOBA
''Junior Old Boys Association''of Sri Sumangala College – SSCJOBA
Sumangalians Scout Association'
{{Education in Sri Lanka
1909 establishments in Ceylon
Boys' schools in Sri Lanka
Buddhist schools in Sri Lanka
Educational institutions established in 1909
National schools in Sri Lanka
Schools in Panadura