St. Thomas' College, Matara

St. Thomas' College (සාන්ත තෝමස් විද්‍යාලය) is a government-aided boys’ primary and secondary school in Matara, Sri Lanka founded in 1844. The college was initially a private Anglican school in Wellamadama, Dondra, established by Rev. Fr. N. J. Ondatjee, a missionary within the Christian Missionary Society of England.^[2] As of May 2025, the college has approximately 3,600 enrolled students for primary and secondary education.^[3]

St. Thomas' College
Location
Matara Sri Lanka
Coordinates	5°56′54″N 80°32′38″E
Information
Type	National school
Motto	Perseverando Vinces (Perseverance conquers all)
Religious affiliation(s)	Anglican Church of Ceylon
Established	10 March 1844; 181 years ago (1844-03-10)
Founder	N. J. Ondatjee
Authority	Ministry of Education
Principal	Nayanapriya Perera
Staff	144
Grades	Primary to GCE A/L
Gender	Boys
Age	6 to 19
Enrollment	3,600
Colour(s)	brown and light blue
Song	"Saint Thomas' forever"[1]
Rival	St. Servatius' College Rahula College
Website	stcmatara.lk

History

St. Thomas' College was founded in 1844 by the Christian Missionary Society of England. A main focus of the missionary bodies in Sri Lanka during the early period of British rule in Ceylon was providing English education. As a result of this, St. Thomas' School later became a secondary school in 1914, as St. Thomas' College was established in a bungalow in the village of Wellamadama, the current location of the University of Ruhuna.^[4]

The school was founded by one of the early Anglican missionaries, Rev. Fr. N. J. Ondatjee, in 1844 with several students and three teachers. Odantjee was later succeeded by others, including Kumaratunga Munidasa, who promoted Sinhala language and literature. In 1960, St. Thomas' College came under the control of the Government after a long period of missionary control. K. B. Jayasuriya became the first principal under government administration. J. E. M. Fernando, K. B. Jayasuriya and E. A. de L. W. Samarasinghe reactivated the college's old boys association, which was defunct after its inauguration by S. J. Gunasekeram in 1934. B. D. Jayasekera designed the college flag and the crest in the early 20th century.^[2]

The Buddhist shrine room constructed at the college premises by the Old Boys Association in 1999 was inaugurated by Madihe Pannaseeha Thero, a Buddhist priest and also a former student of the college.^[4] The school has a long tradition of playing cricket and regularly competes in the St. Thomas'–St. Servatius Cricket Encounter, also known as the Southern Battle of the Blues. This is the second-oldest cricket encounter on the island, also known as the Southern Battle of the Blues or Battle of the Ruhunu.^[4]

Past principals

• N. J. Ondatjee (1844–1848)
• Abraham Dias Abeysinghe (1848–1852)
• John Stevensen Lyle (1852 –1854)
• F. H. De Winton (1854–1856)
• Fedrick Dias Edirisinghe (1856–1858)
• Quancy Adams (1858–1860)
• Clement La–brooy (1860–1865)
• A. W. Wijesinghe (1865–1866)
• W.E.Ferdinando (1866–1872)
• R.O. Macalam (1872–1878)
• F.K. Dency (1878–1884)
• J. W. Bultjens (1884–1890)
• R. C. Reginold (1890–1896)
• L. A. Arndt (1896–1902)
• S. J. Gunasekeram (1902–1903)
• C.P. Fernando (1903–1910)
• J. C. Handy (1910–1915)
• M. S. Solomon (1915–1925)
• P.S.Adams (1925–1934)
• C. C. P. Arulpragasam (1934–1944)
• R. V. L. Pereira (1944–1952)
• J. E. M. Fernando (1952–1959)

Government Principals

• K. B. Jayasuriya (1960–1975)
• E. A. De L. W. Samarasinghe (1975–1985)
• B. G. Sisira (1985–1999)
• Ratnasiri Suraweera (1999–2011)
• W. B. Piyathissa (2011–2021)
• T. L. Dayashantha (2021–2022 )
• P. A. Weerakkodi (2022–2024)
• Nayanapriya Perera (2024–present)

College anthem

The school song was composed by Leonard Archibald Arndt (1889–1955), the school's principal between 1931 and 1933.^[5]

College houses

There are four student houses in the college, named after four past principals. They are:

• Bultjens: Red  
• Dias: Blue  
• Ondatjee: Yellow  
• Edirisinhe: Green  

Sports

Cricket

The St. Thomas-St. Servatius cricket encounter,^[6][7] also known as Battle of the Blues or Battle of the Ruhunu (රුහුණු මහා නිල් සටන), is the annual school cricket match played between St. Thomas' College, Matara, and St. Servatius' College since 1900. This is the second oldest cricket encounter in Sri Lanka.^[8] Since the centenary match in 200, the meet-up has been played as a 3-day game.^{[citation needed]}

Football

The annual Thomas-Rahula Football Encounter or "Battle of Golden Ensigns" football match is played between St. Thomas' College, Matara, and Rahula College. It is one of the first annual inter-school football matches in Sri Lanka.^{[citation needed]}

Notable alumni

See also: Category: Alumni of St. Thomas' College, Matara

List of alumni of St. Thomas' College, Matara;

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Name	Notability	Reference
Politics
Senerat Gunewardene	Ceylon's first Permanent Representative to United Nations, member Parliament Gampola (1947–1948) and Ceylon's High Commissioner to United Kingdom (1961–1963)	[9]
Justin Wijayawardhene	Member Parliament Matara (1960) Founding member of the United National Party
Badi-ud-din Mahmud	Member Parliament Matara (1963–1977) and Minister of Education (1970–1977)
Chandrasiri Gajadeera	Member Parliament Matara (1994–2001, 2004–2019)
Weerasumana Weerasinghe	Member Parliament Matara (2019–present)
Public Services
Madihe Pannaseeha Thero	Buddhist monk (head Amarapura sect 1969–2003)
Cyril de Zoysa	President of the Senate of Ceylon (1960–1965), industrialist, philanthropist
Jabez Gnanapragasam	Anglican Bishop of Colombo (1987–1992)
P. B. Illangasinghe	Sri Lankan notary public and musicologist
Arts
Kumaratunga Munidasa	linguist, poet, author, journalist
W Jayasiri	Sri Lankan Actor, Script Writer, lyricist
Desmond de Silva	Singer	[10]
Tissa Nagodavithana	Film preservationist
Sports
Indika de Saram	International cricket player (1999–2000)
Prabath Nissanka	International cricket player (2001–2003)

See also

• List of the oldest schools in Sri Lanka
• Lists of schools in Sri Lanka