Nalanda College, Colombo

Nalanda College (Sinhala: නාලන්දා විද්‍යාලය) is a Buddhist school in Sri Lanka that provides primary and secondary education for boys. The school was founded by Buddhist educator Patrick de Silva Kularatne as an offshoot of Ananda College, Colombo, and was officially registered as a separate institution on 1 November 1925. History In 1922, a section of Ananda College was relocated to Campbell Place, Colombo, following a proposal from Kularatne. L. H. Mettananda was appointed principal of the institution, which became known as the Ananda branch. W. E. Fernando served as headmaster, and Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero became its first Buddhist teacher. In 1922, the Governor of Ceylon laid the school's foundation stone. In 1924, Kularatne spent Rs. 5,500 to purchase 0.10 ha (0.25 acres) of land near the Campbell Place playground and built sixteen classrooms for the new school, including three for laboratory use and two containing the principal and staff offices. A total of 330 students from Ananda were transferred under the care of Mettananda in 1924. Kularatne helped register the institution as a separate school on 1 November 1925. The new school was given its motto, Apadana Sobhini Panna, while the school name Nalanda was proposed by Ananda Maitreya Thero. The English and Sinhala versions are "Character illumines Wisdom" and "Yahapath Charithayen Praggnawa Opanangwe", respectively. Ananda Maitreya Thero selected this motto from the Anguttara Nikaya, Tika Nipata, Bala Waggo Lakkhana Sutta. On 1 January 1926, Kularatne appointed Dr. Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera as the first registered principal of the newly formed Nalanda College, and transferred Mettananda back to Ananda College as vice principal. Malalasekara launched several projects, making plans for the collection of funds for the construction of buildings, and later commenced a bulletin titled Nalanda. He also arranged 15-minute talks on Buddhism at the daily students' assembly and took many steps to promote the Buddhist environment in the school. Kularatne laid the foundation stone for a second building on 30 March 1926. By the end of 1926, the number of students had increased to 550. Later, he borrowed money from Anagarika Dharmapala to purchase land for the primary section, which was then settled by Malalasekara. The student assembly hall, Malalasekara Theater, is named after him. Academics Students of Nalanda College have participated in national-level examinations, with some achieving high grades in O-Level and A-Level exams, as well as in various sports competitions. Awards In 2011, Nalanda students won first place in the world at the Oracle Thinkquest Application Development. They also won first place in the International Students Biotechnology Competition and the 14th place in the International Convention on Students' Quality Control Circles, held in Lucknow, India. Students of Nalanda College, Colombo, have also participated in research activities. In 2017, a student of the Research Forum won a silver medal for his research work, "Deposition of air pollutants on pollen grains and occurrence of respiratory allergies among humans," at the International Conference of Young Scientists in Germany. Nalanda College Communication Unit Nalanda College Communication Unit (Sinhala: නාලන්දා විද්‍යාලයීය ජනසන්නිවේදන ඒකකය), also known as The Communication Unit of Nalanda College or NCCU Studios, is the official school communication society of Nalanda College. Established in 1986, Nalanda College Communication Unit has been working as a school communication society in Sri Lanka up to the present. Nalanda College began its media work on 24 May 1926, by launching a school newspaper Nalanda Pravurthi (Sinhala: නාලන්දා ප්‍රවෘත්ති, lit: Nalanda News) in accordance to the Nalanda Kusum Dina Campaign by professor Gunapala Malalasekara, principal at that time. In 1927, a school magazine Nalanda Sangarawa (Sinhala: නාලන්දා සඟරාව, lit: Nalanda Magazine) was launched. Nalanda College's communication network was founded in 1986 under the name Nalanda College Communication Unit, carrying the motto Muhukura Nagena Janasanniwedanaye Abhimanaya (Sinhala: මුහුකුරා නැගෙන ජනසන්නිවේදනයේ අභිමානය, lit: The Pride of Emerging Mass Communication). A pioneer in school-level media, the unit grew from its origins into a structured institution open to students from Grade 6 through Advanced Levels. Today, the unit upholds that legacy by producing some of Sri Lanka's most recognized school television and radio broadcasts, organizing All-Island Media Day Competitions, and extending its reach across digital platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. Magazine 'Nalanda' magazine started as a bimonthly magazine to bring forth the language skills of Nalanda young journalists, presumably with the foundation introduced with 'Nalanda Pravurthi' and 'Nalanda Sangarawa' in the early days of Nalanda College. The magazine continued until its final issue in 1978. It started again as a newspaper in 1998 June following the guidance of the principal at that time: Mr. Edward Ranasinghe. Under the motto 'Sin: විමර්ශනාත්මක මනසකින් යුතු මාධ්‍යවේදීන් බිහි වේවා.' (Let journalists with an investigative mind be born) this newspaper captured peer fame as writers from surrounding schools were also encouraged to write articles for the magazine. In October 2012, the first issue of 'Livseriya' (Sihhala: ලිව්සැරිය): a trimonthly newspaper, was published by Nalanda College Communication Unit under the directions of the principal Mr. J. H. M. W. Ranjith Jayasundara, only to be canceled after the first issue. Despite the previous setbacks, Nalanda College Communication Unit relaunched the 'Nalanda' trimonthly magazine in 2018, this time with a steady foundation to ensure a continuous publication. The magazine continues to publish until the present enabling the linguistic development of students, teachers, and past pupils of Nalanda College. Television Broadcasts Source: 2005 – Nalanda TV (Sri Lanka's first ever school TV broadcast) 2008 – Nalanda TV (Sri Lanka’s first-ever school TV broadcast using Chroma Technology) 2009 – Nalanda TV 2012 – Nalanda TV (Sri Lanka’s first-ever school TV broadcast using IPTV Technology) 2013 – Nalanda TV 2019 – Nalanda TV 2021 – Nalanda TV Radio Stations Source: 1996 – Ecstasy of Nalanda 1997 – Nalandasara 1998 – Nalandasara 1999 – Nalandasara 1999 – Broadcasting of a radio channel parallel to the 75th anniversary of Nalanda College 2001 – Ecstasy of Nalanda 2005 – Nalandasara 2006 – Nalandasara 2007 – Nalandasara (Sri Lanka’s first-ever school Web Radio broadcast) 2008 – Nalandasara 2010 – Nalandasara 2011 – Nalandasara 2012 – Nalandasara 2025 – Nalandasara(Centenary Celebration of Nalanda College) All-island Bilingual Announcing Competitions and Media Days Source: 2004 – Sambhasha 2005 – Sambhasha 2006 – Sambhasha 2007 – Sambhasha 2008 – Sambhasha 2009 – Sambhasha 2010 – Sambhasha 2011 – Sambhasha 2012 – Sambhasha Twenty'12 2013 – Sambhasha 2014 – Sambhasha 2015 – Sambhasha 2016 – Sambhasha 2017 – Sambhasha 2023 – Sambhasha 2024 – Sambhasha Board of Officials of the Communication Unit The Board of Officials is responsible for the administration of the Nalanda College Communication Unit. Each year the old batch resigns after nourishing their successors with the customs and traditions of the supremacy since 1986. Presidents of the Communication Unit Source: 2026/2027 - Board of Officials of the Communication Unit (Current) Source: Old Nalandians' Communication Unit Nalanda College has many gifted alumni and among them, there are many people associated with the industry of communication: Campbell Place The College's playground, Campbell Place, is named after Sir George William Campbell, the first Inspector General of Police of British Ceylon. The adjoining road, previously called Campbell Place, has been renamed Ananda Rajakaruna Mawatha, in recognition of Ananda Rajakaruna, a pioneer of Sinhala poetry. Sports Nalanda College has a playground at Campbell Place, a sports complex, a squash court, a swimming pool, a shooting range, a boxing ring, and other sports facilities including: Cricket Battle of the Maroons The encounter was first played in 1924, and is since played as a three-day encounter, starting from 2025 (the 95th in the series - the match was not played in 1943, 1944,1945, and 1948 due to World War II, with matches being held at the Singhalese Sports Club grounds). Nalanda is the current holder of the trophy, having won it in 2022 under the leadership of Dineth Samaraweera. The first Battle of the Maroons was played in 1925, and B.S. Perera led Nalandians while N M Perera led Anandians. Nalanda won the inaugural contest. Sri Lanka's first Test cricket captain, Bandula Warnapura, an alumnus of the college, while Arjuna Ranatunga, who captained the Sri Lankans in the World Cup victory in 1996, was also an alumnus. In 2025, the 95th encounter ended in a draw. The Battle of the Maroons 48th one-day encounter was played in 2025, and was abandoned due to rain. In 1951, Stanley Jayasinghe became the first Nalandian to represent the All Ceylon Cricket Team while still being a schoolboy playing against Pakistan in Pakistan. The match is contested for the Dr. N. M. Perera Memorial Trophy. The one-day 50-over match is played for the P de S Kularatne trophy. Nalanda vs Trinity The annual cricket match between Nalanda College, Colombo, and Trinity College, Kandy, was played for the Mahela-Sanga Trophy. Water polo Nalanda plays its annual water polo encounter with Royal College, Colombo for the Royal-Nalanda Challenge Shield. The inaugural encounter was played in 2017. Golf Nalanda College plays its annual Golf tourney with Ananda College Colombo at Royal Colombo Golf Club. Clubs and societies Principals The college principals are appointed by the Ministry of Education Sri Lanka. Notable staff Notable alumni Past students who have studied at Nalanda College Colombo are referred to as Old Nalandians. War Memorial and remembrance Each year, students and alumni commemorate the loss of 41 alumni who died in the Sri Lankan civil war. A war memorial is situated between the main oldest buildings of the college. Nalanda College Junior Old Boys' Association The association serves the alumni of the college. Its objective is to promote the interests of the college and its past and present students by fostering relationships among alumni and with their alma mater. Each year, the union organises events such as Future Minds, Nalanda Walk, the Olcott Memorial Old Boys' Cricket Tourney, and the Ranaviru Upahara. See also Education in Sri Lanka References External links Nalanda College Colombo Sri Lanka The Digital Education Project of Nalanda College Nalanda Junior Old Boys' Association Nalanda College Old Boys' Association Old Nalandians Sports Club Battle of the Maroons Future Minds