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,[1][2] and was named after the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, D. S. Senanayake.

D. S. Senanayake College
ඩී.ඇස්.සේනානායක විද්‍යාලයය
டி.எஸ் சேனாநாயக்க கல்லூரி
Front entrance to the school
Address
Map
No 62, R. G. Senanayake Mawatha, Cinnamon Gardens

,
Western Province
,
00700

Coordinates6°54′30″N 79°52′29″E / 6.90833°N 79.87472°E / 6.90833; 79.87472
Information
Other names
  • DS
  • DSSC
School typeNational school 1AB Government School
MottoSinhala: තමාට පෙර රට
(Country Before Self)
Established10 February 1967 (1967-02-10)
School districtColombo
PrincipalSampath Weragoda
Teaching staff284
Grades1-13
GenderMale
Age range6 -19
Enrolment6000 - 8000
Language
Hours in school day07:30 - 13:30
Houses
  •   Shura
  •   Meththa
  •   Weera
  •   Shantha
Colour(s)
  • Black and gold
  •   
Song"Sip Satha Sis Wetha"
NewspaperSiyapatha
Websitedssenanayakecollege.lk

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.[3]

History

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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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

Principals

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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

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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

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Name Notability References
Asoka Abeygunawardana electrical engineer, environmentalist and social activist
Pubudu Dassanayake international cricket player (1993–1994)
Aravinda de Silva international cricket player (1984–2003)
Aloka Pathirana Surgeon and academic
Binura Fernando international cricket player (2015–present)
Priyanka Fernando Major General, General Officer Commanding of the 58 Division (2020–present) [citation needed]
Udaya Gammanpila member of parliament – Colombo (2015–present)
Jagath Gunawardena Major General, Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army (2020–present)
Kosala Kuruppuarachchi international cricket player (1986–1987)
Tuan Nizam Muthaliff   Colonel, former Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Military Intelligence Corps (2004–2005)
Naveed Nawaz international cricket player (1998–2002)
Lahiru Perera singer, musician, music producer
Udara Rathnayake Western Provincial Councillor (2014–present)
Asanka Shehan Semasinghe member of parliament – Anuradhapura (2010–present) [6]
Hashan Tillakaratne international cricket player (1986–2004)
Isuru Udana international cricket player (2009–present)
Prasanna Vithanage filmmaker [citation needed]
Anuradha Dullewe Wijeyeratne Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councillor (1988–1993), acting Diyawadana Nilame, Temple of the Tooth (1975–2005) [citation needed]
Chathuranga Kodithuwakku actor, model [7]
Lahiru Mudalige Presenter
Pulasthi Gunaratne cricketer 2002 - 2003 [citation needed]
Premnath C. Dolawatte Attorney-at-Law, member of Parliament - Colombo (2020 - present), and LGBT+ rights advocate [8]

References

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  1. ^ Shanika Perera (1 August 2010). "D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo - A leader in every way". Sunday Times. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  2. ^ "D.S.Senanayake College OBA - dsscoba.com". D S Senanayake CollegeOld Boys' Association.[non-primary source needed]
  3. ^ "President renames Gregory's Road as R. G. Senanayake Mawatha". Daily News. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  4. ^ Bogoda Premaratne (4 October 2007). "Success story of an educator". Sri Lanka News | Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  5. ^ Sunalie Ratnayake (1 April 2006). "D.S. Senanayake College -unity in diversity". History. Tamil Week. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  6. ^ "Parliament of Sri Lanka - Shehan Semasinghe". www.parliament.lk. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Making a bitter experience to a success - Chathuranga Lakshan Kodithuwakku". Ceylon Daily. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Parliament of Sri Lanka - Premnath C. Dolawatte, Attorney at Law". www.parliament.lk. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
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