Piliyandala Central College
Piliyandala Central College (First National Sports School) (Sinhala: පිලියන්දල මධ්ය මහා විද්යාලය; Tamil: பிலியன்தல மத்திய வித்தியாலயம்; is a selective entry mix school located in Piliyandala, Sri Lanka. Started as Mampe Piyarathanasara Buddhist Mix School by Rev. Mampe Saranapala Thero in 1887. Later it was established as Piliyandala Central College by Hon. Mr, C.W.W. Kannangara on the 4th of January 1944, as part of the "'Madhya Maha Vidyalaya'(Central College)" concept (1943), and was the first government-run mix-gender secondary school on the island.
Piliyandala Central College is the first public mix school in Sri Lanka and is often known as "The PCC", and is the 55th oldest school of Sri Lanka and the 4th oldest school to be a central college (Originally the 8th Central College) in the island and has about 4500 students.[1]
| Central College Piliyandala
පිලියන්දල මධ්ය මහා විද්යාලය பிலியன்தல மத்திய வித்தியாலயம் | |
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| Location | |
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Sri Lanka | |
| Coordinates | 6°47′59″N 79°55′15″E / 6.79972°N 79.92083°ECoordinates: 6°47′59″N 79°55′15″E / 6.79972°N 79.92083°E |
| Information | |
| Other names | PCC |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | bodetha pabodetha dametha "බොධෙථ පබොධෙථ දමෙථ " අවබෝධය ප්රබෝධය විනය Awareness Enlightenment Discipline |
| Established | 1887 |
| Founder | Rev. Mampe Saranapala Thero |
| Principal | Mr. D.P. Udawaththage |
| Staff | 200+ |
| Grades | Class 6 - 13 |
| Gender | Mix |
| Age | 11 to 19 |
| Enrollment | 4500+ |
| Language | Sinhala, English |
| Colour(s) | Dark Blue, Gold & Maroon |
| Song | සිරිබර මැදි විදුහල් මාතා (Beautiful Mother Central College) |
| Affiliation | Buddhism |
| Former pupils | Old Centralions |
| Website | www |
As a national school it is funded by the government. Students of Piliyandala Central College are known as Centralions and past pupils are known as Old Centralions. The school has produced many notable alumni.
College[]
Location[]
The school is mostly located in the Piliyandala town area but also spread towards Suwariyapola with occupying a total land area of about 48,000m² (12 acres). 'Udyana Mawatha' Connects the Piliyandala town to the school entrance gate directly. The school is bordered by buildings aside from the Moratuwa-Piliyandala road to the north, School Lane to the East, Wanigasooriya Mawatha to the West, and the South.
Administration[]
The college is funded by the ministry of education, which also appoints its principal. The principal is the head of the administration of the college and is assisted by the deputy principal. The college is divided into two main parts, which are the middle school and the high school, each coming under the supervision of the assistant principals. The college educates around 4500 students from Maharagama to Bandaragama. A prefectorial monitoring system is used to maintain discipline among the students.
Since its establishment, the main medium of education had been Sinhalese; In 2009 English was introduced as a medium of education for the main subjects at the college. Students may select one of the two languages in which to conduct their studies in the main subjects.
Admission[]
Admission to the college is among the most competitive outside the Colombo city area in the Colombo district. It gets its highest number of applications for admission to grade 6 via the grade 5 scholarship examination. Most of the Centralions and the Old Centralions are past pupils of Somaweera Chandrasiri Vidyalaya - Piliyandala and No.1 Kanishta Vidyalaya - Piliyandala which are the two main primary schools in Piliyandala. A number of best students from all over the area are also entered to grade 12 via the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination.
Grounds[]
The college is located on about 48,000m² (12 acres) and Its facilities include lecture halls, science and ICT laboratories, An auditorium, and the college swimming pool complex. Which is said to be the largest swimming pool within a school in Sri Lanka. Sport plays a significant part in College activities. A large in size ground which can be used as cricket grounds, athletics grounds, rugby grounds, and football grounds. tennis courts, basketball courts, and indoor cricket nets within the school premises. since every student was around the piliyandala area, there was no need for hostels.
History[]
In the British colonial times which education was really for converting children into Catholicism in case to protect the rural Buddhist children from this incident, Rev. Mampe Saranapala Thero made the first move to make Piliyandala Central College a reality.[2]
As mentioned above in 1887 at the Mampe Temple in a small hut on which the roof was covered in Coconut branches, Rev. Mampe Saranapala Thero started the school all by himself. As time passed by this hut was no bigger enough for the continuous growth of students and Rev. Mampe Saranapala Thero was asking the leadership of the village for a new building for the school, but it didn't work that well.
Because of Rev. Mampe Saranapala Thero's great attempt, Mr. Kanonis Bass who lived in Moratuwa agreed to donate a vacant land for the school and with the continuous support of Dr. H.D.Koranelis, Registrar Mr. Remanis Wanigasuriya, Mr. D.B. Lewis Vidanarachchi, Dr. Kesbawe Senasekara, Mr. Velun and Mr. H.D. Kirineris in 1887 The Mampe Piyarathanasara Buddhist Mix School was started with future positive hopes.
Mr. Olaboduwe Jayasekara was the headmaster of the school and the school gained so many students of the area which Rev. Mampe Saranapala Thero decided to hand over the charge of the school to the Buddhist Theosophical Society for a much better-organized administration.
They Brought new land for the school but because of the rapid growth of the number of students even it was not enough, society failed to maintain the school and finally, the school was held to the government.
Afterward, the school proudly succeeded in many achievements. In 1920 as a part of a program of the British agent of western province Mr. Praiser, Piliyandala got a Public English Medium Mix School. The headmaster of this school was Mr. S.W. Sahabandu and the 2 schools ( The public English medium mix school & The Sinhalese medium mix school) were divided by a building that a shape like a bird.
As the Madya Vidyala (Central College) Concept of Minister of education Mr. C.W.W. Kannangara, the two schools which were divided from 1920 to 1944 were united and formed Piliyandala Central College on 04th of January 1944, which later on 4th of March 1944 held the official event to convert the school into a Central College. The chairman of this event was a member of the Sri Lanka Parliament for Panadura & the deputy speaker of Sri Lanka Parliament Mr. Susanda Fonseka, Deputy Director of Education Mr. S.LB. Kapukotuwa and the President of the rural development society of Mampe-Kesbawa Mr. L.D.B. Wanigasuriya addressed the participation of the event. The First Principle of the college was Mr. D.M. Costa. On the 24th of November 1945, Central College Piliyandala had its first Prize Giving, and the chief guest of the event was Mr. C.W.W. Kannangara, student hostels were also opened on this day.
College Traditions[]
The College Motto[]
The college motto is 'Bodhetha Pabodhetha Dametha' which means 'Awareness Enlighten & Discipline' in Pali language. These 3 principles are heavily followed by the Centralions. The Motto is also represented in the college flag.
Buddhism[]
The college has a strong bond with Buddhism. This is a result of being one of the first Buddhist schools in Sri Lanka. The college has a special place for Buddhist traditions too.
The Prefectorial Monitoring System[]
The Prefectorial Monitoring System is a system used to maintain discipline among the students since 1944. This system contains 3 main parts.
1. The Teacher In Charge[]
The teacher in charge is the head of this system. She guides the Perfects and represent the Prefects for the college principal.
2. The Prefects[]
The Prefects also can be devided to 2 groups.
• Senior Prefects - The Senior Prefects are appointed among the A/L students. These Prefects are led by 2 Senior Deputy Head Prefects (a girl & a boy), and they are led by 2 Senior Head Prefects (a girl & a boy). Senior Prefects has disciplinary powers from grade 13 to grade 6 students. Senior Prefects wears a silver plate of the college badge on their shirt pocket next to the school badge and wears a tie coloured in the college colours.
• Junior Prefects - The junior Prefects are appointed among the O/L students. These Prefects are led by 2 Junior Deputy Head Prefects (a girl & a boy), and they are led by 2 Junior Head Prefects (a girl & a boy). Junior Prefects has disciplinary powers from grade 11 to grade 6 students. Junior Prefects wears a silver plate of the college badge on their shirt pocket next to the school badge.
3. The Monitors[]
There are 3 types of Monitors.
• Section Monitor - The Section Monitors are appointed among all of the students 2 per each Section (a girl and a boy). They are led by the sectional head teacher of their grade. They have disciplinary powers for any student in their grade.
• Class Monitor - The Class Monitors are appointed among all of the students 2 per class. (a girl and a boy). They are led by their class teacher. They have disciplinary powers for any student in their class.
• Subject Monitor - The Subject Monitors are appointed among all of the students in every class 2 per each subject. (a girl and a boy). They are led by their subject teacher. They have disciplinary powers for any student in their class studying their subject.
Sports[]
Central College Piliyandala has a massive variety of sports when it comes to being The First National Sports School in Sri Lanka. The Annual Cricket match also known as The School Big Match is an important part of school sports which is known as The Battle Of The Salpiti-Raigam as it is an endless rivalry with Taxila Central College Horana.
The Battle Of The Salpiti-Raigam[]
The Battle Of The Salpiti-Raigam, is an annual cricket match between Central College Piliyandala & Taxila Central College Horana. This annual match is one of the most popular school big matches played outside the Colombo city area which has been played for 19 years since 2001. The big match was played for 2 days and a limited overs match (50 overs) also played usually in De Zoysa International Cricket Stadium.
Defending Champions are Central College Piliyandala of The 19th Battle Of The Salpiti-Raigam 2020.
Principals of Piliyandala Central College[]
• Rev. Mampe Saranapala Thero 1887
• Mr. Olaboduwe Jayasekara 1887 - 1888
• Mr. M.D.J. Perera 1889
• Mr. S.W. Sahabandu 1920
• Mr. H.M. Costa 1944
• Mr. H.R. Fernando 1944 - 1946
• Mr. L.P. de Silva 1947
• Mr. W.K.P. de Silva 1948
• Mr. H.I de Silva 1949
• Mr. W.V.P Gunawardena 1950 - 1955
• Mr. H.I. de Silva 1956
• Mr. M.A.R. Koore 1957 - 1969
• Mr. D.B. Perera 1970
• Mr. M.B. Rathnayake 1971
• Mr. D.S. Senanayake 1972 - 1977
• Mr. K.S. Wikramarathna 1978 - 1984
• Mr. G.J.M.M. Fernando 1985 - 1987
• Mr. W.M.L. Wijesingha 2007 - 2012
• Mr. D.P. Udawaththage 2012 - Present
Houses[]
Each student is assigned to one of the four houses which are named after ancient Sinhala kings of Sri Lanka.
• Gemunu House
Colours: Dark Blue & Black
• Wijaya House
Colours: Dark Green & Black
• Parakrama House
Colours: Gold & Black
• Thissa House
Colours: Maroon & Black
An athletic & sports tournament among these houses is held once a year at the beginning of the first term. Wijaya House is the defending champion of 2020.
See also[]
- Education in Sri Lanka
- Madhya Maha Vidyalaya
- Free education
- List of schools in Sri Lanka
References[]
- ^ "About Us". Piliyandala Central College. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ^ "History". Piliyandala Central College. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
External links[]
- Provincial schools in Sri Lanka
- Educational institutions established in 1887
- Schools in Colombo District
- National schools in Sri Lanka
- 1887 establishments in Ceylon