S Thomas College is another prestigious college in Sri Lanka that has a very rich history and a unique culture. Situated near the picturesque and aquatic Mount Lavinia beach, the college spread across a very large land area catering to over two thousand five hundred students. Belonging to the Anglican atmosphere, S Thomas College provides the finest education and fine-tuns the hidden talents of young Thomians towards sports.
The creation of S Thomas College
The creation of this school was an idea of the first-ever Bishop in Colombo. Reverend James Chapman who lived in England wanted to build an educational institute just like the one he had his education. He wanted the Sri Lankan children to absorb that standardized education and mould under that atmosphere.
So he established the school under the name S Thomas College in the year of eighteen fifty-one. He wanted to construct a cathedral for the new Colombo parish as well as to establish a public school that operates in Britain. Reverend wanted to implant the Eton College system into this new school. He chose the Eton College motto as the S Thomas College’s motto and embedded the Etonian model into the Sri Lankan college.
To the new location
In eighteen fifty-two the first step to build the college started by laying the foundation stone. The original location was in Mutuwal. But Warden Stone suggested that the busy and noisy Mutuwal location is not ideal for raising young Thomians. So the college moved to Mount Lavinia location in Nineteen Eighteen. The lush green and quiet location was ideal for the Thomians to fully concentrate on their studies with a more peaceful mindset.
Further developments and add-ons
In Eighteen eighty-three the school colours were decided by Warden Miller. He chose blue and black as the colour. The black colour was centred by blue stripes. It was put to use since Eighteen eighty-five. The blue stands for purity, Excellency and divine while black implies shame, evil and sorrow. The blend of these two colours means that ‘believing in what God did. It is victorious and will stand against evil’.
In Nineteen fifty-one the college was converted into a private school where the students should pay a school fee to obtain an education. Since then S Thomas College has excelled as one of the best Top ranked private schools in Sri Lanka.
In Nineteen Sixteen the college got its own college song. It is most commonly known as a Thomian song. This came to students in the April Magazine. The words of the song came from a noble Royalist and the music was put in by the eighth warden of the college.
The school had its crest with the establishment of the school. Initially, it was the proponent with a staff and an open book. But it changed in the early twenties into a blue shield in black background. The current crest that is visible in the flag and uniforms was introduced in Nineteen forty-seven. It was a creation of Canon de Saram. The idea of this crest was taken from the Colombo parish’s crest. This was commonly known as the ‘Coat of Arms of the Diocese’.
The housing system
Just like other schools, S Thomas College also has a housing system. The school has five houses and one of these houses are for the boarders. The other four houses are for the students who come to school from their residence. This system was introduced in Nineteen Twenty Six and the houses are, De Saram, Wood, Buck, Stone and the Boarding house.
S Thomas College sports atmosphere
S Thomas College boasts about the talented sports personnel that it has created for over a hundred and seventy years. The school provides all types of facilities and infrastructure to polish up the students’ athletic skills.
S Thomas College is the first school that owned a swimming pool in Sri Lankan school history. It was a present from Dr R L Hayman who was a sub warden in the school in Nineteen thirty-three.
The school also has a small club ground and a big club ground where the Thomians can practice cricket, rugby, hockey and other outdoor sports. In Nineteen Ninety-Six the college got a sports complex that has three stories. It includes table tennis courts, badminton courts as well as three squash courts. They have a gymnasium. It is up to international standards with modern equipment.
Inter-school sports tournaments
The inter-school tournaments are very popular among Thomians. The annual Big Match, Rugby and the Regatta play a significant role in the school calendar. The Royal-Thomian big match, most commonly known as the Battle of the Blues, is one of the oldest school cricket matches in Sri Lankan history.
The Rugby match between Royal College and S Thomas College is one of the oldest rugby matches in Sri Lanka. Both schools started Rugger in the Nineteen Fifties and the winning team gets the Michael Gunaratne Trophy.
The Royal Thomian Regatta is a very unique competition. This started in Nineteen Sixty Two and it continues until today. There are eight events in this tournament. They row the boats for a distance of thousand yards. The picturesque Beira Lake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beira_Lake is the venue of this event.
Other famous sports tournaments associated with this college are, the Tennis match and the water polo matches that hold for the Dr R L Hayman trophy. Both these competitions are between Royal and S Thomas Colleges.
Today S Thomas is in the process of cultivating young educated and talented Thomians who can outperform in the fields that they are serving under the motto ‘Be thou forever for God and church’.
