St. Aloysius' College is situated on Mount Calvery, neighbouring St. Mary's Cathedral on
one side and Sacred Heart Convent on the other. The college was established in
1895 by Jesuit fathers and was named after the Jesuit Saint, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga (born on 9 March 1568). Saint Aloysius' is
regarded as the Saint of Youth by the Jesuits because of the heroic acts that
he had performed when he was a young Jesuit helping Plague victims in Rome, Italy in 1587. After a few years helping
plague victims, young Saint Aloysius died on 21 June 1591 at the age of 23 when
he himself contracted the disease. St. Aloysius' College, Galle, is one of many
schools named after Saint Aloysius, and many exist all around the world
including schools in Glasgow-Scotland, Sydney-Australia, Bangalore-India,
Malta, London-England etc.(See List).
Until the Sri Lankan government brought legislation for
nationalisation of schools in the island (with an exception of only a few
schools), St. Aloysius' College was run by Jesuit Fathers and the medium of
instruction was English. The first Buddhist Principal was appointed in the year
1971 and subsequently the medium of instruction was changed to Sinhala.
College Today
The college today provides
education to 3900 students from grade 1 to grade 13 and it is regarded as one
of the leading boys' schools in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The
students of the school fall into diverse religious groups where over 90 percent
of students are from a Buddhist background and the rest from Catholic/Christian
and Islamic backgrounds. The school has earned its reputation in the areas of
academic excellence as well as in sports.
College
Crest's Elements
College
Houses
Students represent five houses
that are named after Jesuit Fathers who were pioneers in developing the school
in its early days. Students are divide in to houses according to their admission
number.
§ -Cooreman
§ -Murphy
§ -Neut
§ -Standaert
§ -Van Reeth
Sports
College provides a major emphasis on Sports with over 10 different
sports played. Those include;
§
Athletics
§
Badminton
§
Basketball
2011
§
Chess
§
Cricket
|
§
Hockey
§
Rugby
Football
§
Soccer
§
Swimming/Diving
§
Billiard/Snooker
|
Battle of Two Cities
The annual cricket encounter is played between St Aloysius'
College, Galle and Rahula College, Matara and it's often referred to as the "Battle
of the Two Cities". St. Aloysius' College, Galle registered an innings and
33 run victory over Rahula College, Matara in their 5th annual ‘Big’ match
which ended at the Galle International
Stadium. Ending a four-year
drought for a win from either side. Resuming on day two with the overnight
score of 113 for 5, St. Aloysius declared after reaching 160 for 8 with a lead
of 104 runs after bowling out Rahula Collage, Matara for a meek 56 runs on the
first day.
Clubs and Societies
List of Clubs and Associations in SAC|List of Clubs and Associations
of Saint Aloysius College.
§
Art
Society
§
Buddhist
Society
§
Commerce
Society
§
Computer
Society
§
English
Literary Association
§
First
Aid Unit
|
§
Environment
Society
§
Islam
Society
§
Mass
Media Unit
§
Oriental
Music Group
§
Photographic
Society
|
§
Science
Society
§
Scouts
Troop
§
Sinhala
Debating Team
§
Sinhala
Literary Association
§
Western
Music Band
|
Principals
Period
|
Details
|
1910 – 1921
|
Rev. Fr. Dionysius Murphy S.J
|
1921 – 1925
|
Rev. Fr. John Delaney S.J
|
1925 – 1949
|
Rev. Fr. Ernest Gaspard S.J
|
1949 – 1962
|
Rev. Fr. Paul N. Peiris S.J
|
1963 – 1968
|
Rev. Fr. Caspersz S.J
|
1968 – 1970
|
Rev. Fr. Stephen Fernando S.J (Acting)
|
1970 – 1971
|
Rev. Fr. Caspersz S.J
|
13 June 1971 – 1 April 1972
|
Mr B.K. Silva
|
1 April 1972 – 28 February 1973
|
Mr Dunstan Fernando
|
28 February 1973 – 3 August 1973
|
Mr J.B. Varnakulasingham (Acting)
|
3 August 1973 – 22 December 1975
|
Mr L.D.P. Jayasinghe
|
22 December 1975 – 25 May 1976
|
Mr A.B.J.L. Fernando (Acting)
|
25 May 1976 – 7 January 1987
|
Mr D.Y. Wijewickrama
|
7 January 1987 – 1996
|
Mr A.V. Illeperuma
|
1996 – 2004
|
Mr N.K. Ariyawansa
|
2004 –2004
|
Mr. Nandasena Pathirana (Acting)
|
2004 – to-date
|
Mr D.P.L.S. Gunasekara
|
Old Boys' Associations (OBA's)
There are a few branches of OBA's located all around the world.
§ Old Boys' Association - Galle - Parent Body
§ Old Boys' Association - Colombo Branch
§ Old Boys' Association - Melbourne
§ Old Boys' Association - London
§ Old Boys' Association - New Zealand
Notable Aloysians
§ Prof Cyril Ponnamperuma - Scientist( subject: Molecular evolution ) in
Exobiology Division at NASA's Ames Research Center
§ Dr G. Morrel Fonseka - Professor and Senior
Lecturer in Geophysics, Open University of Sri Lanka and former President of
the Geological Society of Sri Lanka (GSSL)
§ Dr Marlene Abeyewardena - Gynaecologist
§ Dr D V J Harishchandra - Consultant Psychiatrist
§ Dr E M R de Saram - Psychiatrist
§ Dr Bertram Dias - Specialist Paediatrician
§ Gaya de Silva - Deputy Inspector General, Sri
Lanka Police
§ Prof Granville Dharmawardena - Senior professor,
University of Colombo
§ Dr D P Athukorala - Heart Specialist
§ M S Amarasiri - Former Chief Minister Uva
Province
§ Dr S Kasthuri-Consultant Paediatric Surgeon
§ Prof M R Mohideen-Professor of Medicine,Faculty
of Medicine,University of Ruhuna
§ Feisal Junaid - Former Ambassador of Sri Lanka
to Pakistan, Iraq, Bangaladesh