page_title: Royal College, Colombo
section_title: School traditions
hierarchical_section_title: Royal College, Colombo / School traditions
caption_attribution_description: English: Royal College motto. Own work by uploader.
context_page_description: Royal College is a selective entry boys' school located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in January 1836, as part of the implementation of the recommendations of the Colebrooke Cameron Commission, and was the first government-run secondary school for boys in the island.
  Royal College is considered to be the leading public school in Sri Lanka and is often referred to as the "Eton of Sri Lanka". The school was founded in the British public school tradition, based on the recommendations of the Colebrooke Cameron Commission, and having been named the Royal College, Colombo in 1881 with consent from Queen Victoria, it became the first school to gain the prefix, "Royal", outside of the British Isles and it was one of the first schools to be designated as a national school by the Sri Lankan Government in the 1980s.
  As a national school it is funded by the government as opposed to the provincial council providing both primary and secondary education. The school was selected as "one of best innovative colleges" in the world by Microsoft in 2009.
context_section_description: The college's motto is "Disce aut Discede", meaning "Learn or Depart" in Latin. The motto is associated with the high academic standard maintained at the school for over 180 years. The first mentions of the motto appeared during the tenure of Principal George Todd (1871–1878). "Floreat", meaning "flourish" in Latin, has been a motto associated with school since the founding of the Colombo Academy in 1836. It is derived from "Floreat Etona", the motto of Eton College on which the academy was modeled on at its formation.
caption: Royal College motto on top of the main building
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