St. Servatius' College, Matara

St. Servatius' College
Location
St Servatius' Road, Kotuwegoda Matara Sri Lanka
Coordinates	5°56′38″N80°33′07″E / 5.943903°N 80.551987°E / 5.943903; 80.551987
Information
Type	National School
Motto	Latin: Esto - Vir English: Be a Man
Religious affiliation(s)	Catholic
Patron saint(s)	Saint Servatius of Tongres
Established	2 November 1897;127 years ago (1897-11-02)
Founder	Augustus Standeart
Principal	H. K. L. B. Virajit
Staff	180+
Teaching staff	150+
Age range	6 to 19
Number of students	4000+
Color(s)	Green and white
Song	"Esto vir in matara"
Sports	Cricket, Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Chess, Karate, Wushu, Swimming
Rival	St. Thomas' College, Matara.
Alumni	Old Servatians
Website	St. Servetius' College

St. Servatius' College is a boys' school located in Matara, Sri Lanka. The school was established in 1897 by recently arrived Belgian Jesuit missionaries, led by Joseph Van Reeth, first bishop of Galle and Father Augustus Standaert. St. Servatius' College is a national school, which provides primary and secondary education. This is the only school in Sri Lanka where three Governors of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka were educated. This is the only school in Sri Lanka that has produced national team captains in the sports of cricket, football and volleyball.^{[ citation needed ]}

History

St. Servatius' College was founded when the Bishop of Galle, Joseph Van Reeth (in French), wanted to create an educational infrastructure in the newly established diocese, and called on the Belgian Jesuits for help. ^[1]

Father Augustus Standaert and a few other Belgian Jesuits arrived in Galle in 1896, and on 2 November 1897, the priests opened an English medium school on a small plot of land on the banks of the River Nilwala in Pallimulla, Matara. The school opened with five students in 1896, ^[2] and within two years it had grown to accommodate 54 students.^{[ citation needed ]}

Old St. Servatius' College

In August 1898, a new structure was erected for the school. As the construction funds came from the St. Servatius Jesuit school of Liège, Belgium, the Matara school adopted the name of this patron saint: Servais de Tongres, a 4th-century Belgian missionary, and one of the first bishops in the area around Tongeren, Maastricht, and Liège.

Old St. Servatius College Main Hall

Old Joe Rajapaksa Hall

After some years the school was moved to its present location in Kotuwegoda, Matara. ^[3] In 1961, as part of a government program to take over private schools, the school was adopted by the Ministry of Education, although it remained administered by Roman Catholic fathers until 1965.

St. Servatius College principal and Staff

Currently,^{[ when? ]} over 3,000 students are enrolled at St. Servatius' College. The school employs over one hundred staff, led by principal H. K. L. B. Virajith. It was made a Sri Lankan national school in 1993. ^[4]

Principals

Ordinal	Officeholder	Period
1	Rev. Fr. Augustus Standaert	1897–1901
2	Rev. Fr. Adolph Closset	1901–1905
3	Rev. Fr.Anthony Weapon	1905
4	Rev. Fr. W. Wickramasinghe	1905–1910
5	Rev. Fr. A. Beernaert	1910
6	Rev. Fr. Samson Costa	unknown
7	Rev. Fr. E. Frutsaert	1922
8	Rev. Fr. Olivier Feron	1922–1930
9	Rev. Fr. S. G. Perera	unknown
10	Rev. Fr. S. Crubg	unknown
11	Rev. Fr.E. Bastineer	unknown
12	Rev. Fr.Terrence de Silva	1930–1933
13	Rev. Fr.Mark Anthony Fernando	unknown
14	Rev. Fr.P. M. Baguet	1942–1945
15	Rev. Fr. Angia	1945
16	Rev. Fr. Alles	1945
17	Rev. Fr. C. Guida	1945–1947
18	Rev. Fr. Joe Rajapakse	1947–1966
19	S. E. Munaweera	1967–1968
20	J. Shelton De Silva	1968–1970
21	S. K. H. Jayawardena	1970–1971
22	G. L. Galappaththi	1971–1985
23	K. A. Dharmadasa	1985–1986
24	M. J. Gunasekera	1987–1997
25	A. H. N. Jayaweera	1997
26	M. G. R. M. Wijesinghe	1997–1998
27	D. Jayaweera	1998–2000
28	W. Somawantha	2000–2001
29	Kodippili	2001–2002
30	D. Vidanapathirana	2002–2008
31	Nimalsiri Wanigabadhu	2008–2012
32	Ashoka Kumara	2012 – April 2013
33	K. Ranasinha	April 2013 – October 2014
34	M. Rathnasekara	October 2014 – 2018
35	K. H. L. M. Kawshalya	2018 – 2019
36	H. K. L. B. Virajith	2019 – present

Rev Fr Joe Rajapaksa

College houses

College house names are listed in alphabetical order.

• Adolphust -  
• Beernaert -  
• Standaert -  
• Walter -  

Cricket

The St. Thomas'–St. Servatius Cricket Encounter, known as the Battle of the Blues, ^{[5] [6]} is the annual cricket match played between the cricket teams of St. Servatius' College and St. Thomas' College, Matara. The match has been played since 1900, and is the second-oldest school cricket series in Sri Lanka. ^[7]

Notable alumni

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Name	Notability	Reference
Sanath Jayasuriya	International Cricket player (1989–2011), Member of Parliament for Matara (2010–2015)	[8]
Ruchira Palliyaguruge	International Cricket umpire (2011–present), first-class cricket player (1989–2008)	[ citation needed ]
Kasun Rajitha	International Cricket player (2016–present)	[9]
Anslem de Silva	Biologist, herpetologist
Warnasena Rasaputra	Governor of Central Bank (1979–88)	[ citation needed ]
N. U. Jayawardena	1st Ceylonese Governor of Central Bank (1953–54), founder of Sampath Bank (1986-?)	[10]
Sunil Mendis	Governor of Central Bank (2004–06)	[ citation needed ]
Anura Senanayake	Senior DIG of Sri Lankan Police	[ citation needed ]
Bandu Samarasinghe	Actor
Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena	Member of Sri Lankan Parliament for Matara (2004–10)	[11]
Dullas Alahapperuma	Member of Sri Lankan Parliament for Matara (1994-2001, 2015–present)	[12]
Justin Galappaththi	Member of Sri Lankan Parliament for Matara (2001–04)	[ citation needed ]
Mahinda Wijesekara	Member of Sri Lankan Parliament for Matara (1989–94, 2001–04)	[ citation needed ]
Chathura Gunaratne	National Footballer (2006–14)	[ citation needed ]
Kavindu Ishan	National Footballer (2010-?)	[ citation needed ]

See also

• List of Jesuit schools
• Basilica of Saint Servatius
• Servatius of Tongeren
• Joseph Van Reeth

References

1. "The history of St. Servatius College".
2. "The history of St. Servatius College".
3. "Present Premises".
4. "The College History and the Present". Wordpress. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
5. 124th Battle of the Blues St. Servatius’ favoured, aiming to break over five decade hoodoo
6. Big Match: Matara's 118th Battle of the Blues begins
7. Dhananjan, Kevin (23 March 2023). "The Southern Blues; A medieval tussle". ThePapare. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
8. Fernando, Leslie (22 June 2008). "Master-blaster Sanath won Observer Outstation Cricketer Award in 1988". Sunday Observer. Archived from the original on 5 July 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
9. "Kasun Rajitha". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
10. K. Godage (29 October 2010). "NU Jayawardena: The colossus from Tangalle" . Retrieved 22 February 2019.
11. Political stability, vital for economic growth - Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana
12. "BUSINESS TODAY -Dullas Alahapperuma Outlines the track record". www.businesstoday.lk. Retrieved 23 July 2020.

External links

• St. Servatius' College Official Web Site
• St. Servatius' College on Viki