# D. S. Senanayake College

D. S. Senanayake College (Sinhala: ඩී.ඇස්.සේනානායක විද්‍යාලය; Tamil: டி.எஸ் சேனாநாயக்க கல்லூரி; also referred to as DS and DSSC) is a boys' primary and secondary national school in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It was established on 10 February 1967 with R. I. T. Alles as the founding principal, and was named after the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, D. S. Senanayake.
It provides education from Grades 1 to 13 in Sinhalese, Tamil and English languages. It is the second-largest multi-ethnic school in the country. Its street name was formerly known as Gregory Road but was renamed to R. G. Senanayake Mawatha in 2013.

## History

In 1965, the number of requests to admit children into the Royal College Primary had become excessive. Thus the Minister of Education I. M. R. A. Iriyagolla took the initiative to build a new school in Cinnamon Gardens on the lines of Royal College, Colombo. In 1967, Minister Iriyagolla began the ground work for establishing the school. It was named after D. S. Senanayake, who was the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) after gaining independence. R. I. T. Alles, an assistant principal at Royal College became the head teacher of the new school. The location in which the college stands today was at that time called the Kumbikale jungle.
As a resolution the Ministry of Education had taken a decision to increase the number of primary schools, to meet with the increasing demand of parents enrolling their children to Colombo schools. The secretary of the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, M. J. Perera, was assigned to find a suitable plot of land to start the new school. Accordingly, the empty plot of land situated down the Gregory's road normally "Kubi Kelle" adjoining Kinsy road was selected for the purpose with another land bounded the said premises which belonged to the Ministry of Defense and also was acquired building plans were prepared and implemented by the state engineering co - operation.
Alles who had been an assistant teacher at Royal College had been appointed as the principal of D. S. Senanayake College. He was helped by the principal of Royal College, B. Premarathne. The cadet platoon of the Royal College also cleaned the land holding a shramadana. Five assistant teachers and office equipment were donated by the Royal College.

## Principals

| Name | Tenure |
| R. I. T. Alles | 1967 - 1982 |
| P. Samaranayake | 1982 - 1984 |
| S. M. A. J. A. Mayadunne | 1984 - 1989 |
| R. I. T. Alles | 1989 - 1992 |
| Somabandhu Kodikara | 1992 - 1995 |
| G. C. Adikari | 1995 - 1999 |
| Asoka Senani Hewage | 1999 - 2010 |
| D. M. D. Dissanayake | 2010 - 2016 |
| R. M. M. Rathnayake | 2016 - 2020 |
| Prasanna Upashantha | 2020 - 2023 |
| Sampath Weragoda | 2023–present |

## Hostel

The school has a hostel which provides accommodation to over 200 students. The hostel was opened in January 2003 by the Minister of Education, Karunasena Kodituwakku. The students were admitted to the hostel for the first time in February 2003.

## Notable alumni

| Name | Notability |
| Asoka Abeygunawardana | electrical engineer, environmentalist and social activist |
| Anuradha Dullewe Wijeyeratne | Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councillor (1988–1993), acting Diyawadana Nilame, Temple of the Tooth (1975–2005) |
| Aravinda de Silva | international cricket player (1984–2003) |
| Aloka Pathirana | Surgeon and academic |
| Asanka Shehan Semasinghe | Member of parliament – Anuradhapura Electoral District (2010–2024) |
| Binura Fernando | international cricket player (2015–present) |
| Chathuranga Kodithuwakku | actor, model |
| Damitha Thotawatta | Judge of the Court of Appeal (since 2024) |
| Hashan Tillakaratne | international cricket player (1986–2004) |
| Isuru Udana | international cricket player (2009–present) |
| Jagath Gunawardena | Major General, Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army (2020–present) |
| Kosala Kuruppuarachchi | international cricket player (1986–1987) |
| Lahiru Perera | singer, musician, music producer |
| Lahiru Mudalige | Presenter |
| Naveed Nawaz | international cricket player (1998–2002) |
| Prasanna Vithanage | filmmaker |
| Priyanka Fernando | Major General, General Officer Commanding of the 58 Division (2020–present) |
| Pubudu Dassanayake | international cricket player (1993–1994) |
| Pulasthi Gunaratne | cricketer 2002 - 2003 |
| Premnath C. Dolawatte | Attorney-at-Law, Member of Parliament - Colombo (2020 - 2024), and LGBT+ rights advocate |
| Tuan Nizam Muthaliff † | Colonel, former Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Military Intelligence Corps (2004–2005) |
| Udaya Gammanpila | Member of parliament – Colombo Electoral District (2015–2024) |
| Udara Rathnayake | Western Provincial Councillor (2014–present) |