# St. Aloysius' College, Galle

Saint Aloysius' College (Sinhala: සාන්ත ඇලෝෂියස් විද්‍යාලය) is a boys' high school located in Galle, the capital city of Southern Province in Sri Lanka. The school was established in 1895 by recently arrived Belgian Jesuit missionaries, led by Joseph Van Reeth, first bishop of Galle. St. Aloysius' College is a national school that provides primary and secondary education. In 2012, it had 4,000 students on its roll.

## History

St. Aloysius' College is situated on Mount Calvary, neighbouring St. Mary's Cathedral on one side and Sacred Heart Convent on the other. The college was established in 1895 by Belgian Jesuit fathers and was named after the Jesuit saint, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. St. Aloysius' College, Galle, is one of many schools named St Aloysius' College.
Until the Sri Lankan government passed legislation for the 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 1971, and subsequently the medium of instruction was changed to Sinhala.

## College today

The college provides education to 5000 students from grade 1 to G.C.E. A/L. The students of the school fall into diverse religious groups where over 90 percent of students are Buddhists and the others are Christian (or Catholic) and Muslim.

### Crest

Centre: IHS – Iesus Hominum Salvator("Jesus Saviour of Mankind")
1. The Tusker – Courage
2. Lilies – Purity of conscience 3. Torch – Torch of learning 4. Rooster – Symbol of Galle

### Houses

Students represent five houses that are named after Jesuit Fathers who were pioneers in developing the school in its early days. Students are divided into houses according to their admission number.
* -Cooreman
* -Murphy
* -Neut
* -Standaert
* -Vanreeth

## Sports

Sports is a major part of St. Aloysius’ College. Cricket, Basketball, Rugby, Football, Hockey and Swimming are some of the sports among over 20 sports in College.

### Rugby

Rugby takes a prominent role as it has a history starting from 1980s. As a foot step of that, with the motto ‘‘ Born with the Stuff ’’ Rugby was introduced at St. Aloysius’ in latter part of 1980s. The first historic match was played in 1992 against Richmond College. Taking centre stage of the annual sporting calendar are the St. Aloysius' - Richmond Rugby Encounter.

### Basketball

The annual St.Aloysius'- Mahinda basketball encounter, is an annual basketball match played between St.Aloysius' College and Mahinda College, Galle.

### Cricket

St. Aloysius' College, Galle and Holy Cross College, Kalutara have officially agreed to play an annual cricket big match starting this year.(2025)
Both schools have decided to hold the inaugural encounter on May 30th and 31st at the iconic Galle International Cricket Stadium.
This is more than just a cricket match—it’s a celebration of sportsmanship, legacy, and brotherhood. Along with this, a one-day competition is also held annually. The matches are held at the Galle International Stadium.

## Principals

| Period | Principal |
| 1896 – 1910 | Joseph Van Reeth |
| 1910 – 1921 | Dionysius Murphy |
| 1921 – 1925 | John Delaney |
| 1925 – 1949 | Ernest Gaspard |
| 1949 – 1962 | Paul Nazarine Peiris |
| 1963 – 1968 | Paul Caspersz |
| 1968 – 1970 | Stephen Fernando (acting) |
| 1970 – 1971 | Paul Caspersz |
| 13 June 1971 – 1 April 1972 | B. K. Silva |
| 1 April 1972 – 28 February 1973 | Dunstan Fernando |
| 28 February 1973 – 3 August 1973 | J. B. Varnakulasingham (acting) |
| 3 August 1973 – 22 December 1975 | L. D. P. Jayasinghe |
| 22 December 1975 – 25 May 1976 | A. B. J. L. Fernando (acting) |
| 25 May 1976 – 7 January 1987 | D. Y. Wijewickrama |
| 7 January 1987 – 1996 | A. V. Illeperuma |
| 1996 – 2004 | N. K. Ariyawansa |
| 2004 –2004 | Nandasena Pathirana (acting) |
| 2004 – 2014 | D. P. L. S. Gunasekara |
| 2014 - 2014 | Piyasiri Kumarage (acting) |
| 2014 - 2017 October | Ranjith Thilakarathne |
| 2017 - 2017 | L.P.Weeraman (acting) |
| 2017 - 2020 | Nayanapriya Perera |
| 2020 - 2024 | Anura Gamage |
| 2024–Present | Pubudu Sampath |

## Old Boys' associations

There are a number of branches of the school's Old Boys’ Association located all around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Qatar and the United Kingdom.

## Notable alumni

| Name | Notability |
| Ediriweera Sarachchandra | playwright, novelist, poet and literary critic |
| Cyril Ponnamperuma | Scientist (Molecular Evolution) in Exobiology Division at NASA's Ames Research Center |
| R. I. T. Alles | educationist, founder of D. S. Senanayake College (Colombo, Sri Lanka) |
| N. U. Jayawardena | economist, Governor of the Central Bank of Ceylon (1953–1954) |
| A. C. Alles | Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (1964–1974) |
| Shantha Kottegoda | General - Commander of the Army (2004–2005) |
| Lalith Gamage | President - Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology |
| Gihan Wikramanayake | Director, University of Colombo School of Computing |
| D. V. J. Harischandra | consultant psychiatrist, author, buddhist scholar |
| Matarage Sirisena Amarasiri | Chief Minister of Southern Province (1998–1993), Governor of Uva (1999–2003) |
| Chandima Weerakkody | Member of Parliament (Galle) (2009–present) |
| Sunil Santha | musician, composer, singer, lyricist |
| A. R. M. Thassim | business owner, philanthropist, Mayor of Galle (1950–51; 1954–62) |
| Patrick Denipitiya | songwriter, composer, music arranger, instrumentalist |
| Dilith Jayaweera | Chairman - George Steuart Group, Director - Citrus Leisure PLC, Managing Director - Triad (Pvt) Ltd |
| Lalith Jayaweera | Air Vice Marshal, Director General Health Services at Sri Lanka Air Force |
| Chathuranga de Silva | One Day International cricket player (2014) |
| Harsha Vithana | First class cricket player |
| Mohan P. de Silva | Member of Parliament (Galle) (2010–present) |
| Asoka Abeygunawardana | Chairman, CEO of Strategic Enterprise Management Agency at Presidential Secretariat |
| Ashen Bandara | International cricketer |
| Percy Abeysekera | Cricket superfan |
| Anura Karunathilaka | Cabinet Minister (current) |
| Rathna Gamage | State Minister (current) |