Girls' High School, Kandy

Girls' High School, Kandy
Girls' High School, Kandy
Location
	Kandy , Central Province ; Sri Lanka
Coordinates	7°17′13″N80°37′36″E / 7.2869°N 80.6268°E
Information
Type	National / Public
Motto	A Deo Auxilium; ("Our Help Cometh from the Lord", adapted from Psalm121:1)
Religious affiliation(s)	Methodist / Wesleyan
Established	1879;145 years ago
Founder	Samuel Langdon, Methodist Church of Great Britain
Principal	Nilanka Abeywardene
Grades	Grade 1 – 13
Gender	Girls
Age	6to 19
Enrollment	6000+
Language	Sinhala, Tamil, English
Schedule	7:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Houses	Eaton ; Langdon ; Lawrance ; Sansom
Color(s)	Dark Blue, Light Blue, Green, Yellow ;
Athletics	Yes
Sports	Yes
Brother School	Kingswood College, Kandy
Pupils	Ladies of High School
Abbreviation	KGHS
Website	www.ghskandy.edu.lk

Last updated April 27, 2024

Girls' High School, Kandy is a national girls' school located in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1879 by Wesleyan Methodist missionaries and the oldest school for girls in Kandy.^[1]

History

Early years

In 1873, the need of a school in connection with Wesleyan Mission work was urged by Rev. Samuel Langdon and so a Day and Boarding school was built in Katukele, Kandy Sri Lanka.

The school was opened in 1879 at the Wesleyan school chapel adjoining the Girls' Boarding School, Katukele - Kandy, under the management of Mrs Langdon. Miss Payne, the next principal arrived in Colombo on 31 July 1879 but left the school in 1880. In May 1880 Miss Hay came from England and the school, which had 10 on the roll at its inception, increased to 70 and was registered to obtain a grant-in-aid from the government.

As numbers increased, in 1881 the school shifted to the more commodious precincts of the Mission in Brownrigg Street, but boarders remained at Katukele. Classes were held behind the church. Long desks and forms without backs and heavy pews from the church were moved weekly when classes had to take turn in writing. There were no games, Guiding, debating or netball, not even a library.

Since its inception the school has represented the ethnic diversity of Sri Lanka, with its student body consisting of Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors, Malays, Burghers and Chinese.^[2]

20th century

With the dawn of the 20th century, under the guidance of Miss Sansom, who served for 19 years, Kandy High School became one of the leading educational instructions in Ceylon. On 21 March 1917 the First Company of Girl Guides was formed in the Island. Miss Sansom prepared the way for this and Miss Jane Calveriey, the Vice-Principal was the First Captain. This was followed by the 1st Brownie Company and the Ranger Company in 1918 and 1921. In June 1920 a plague broke out in Kandy and 262 students were ordered to leave the premises overnight. The kindergarten and Std 2 shifted to Trinity College, Std 3 and 4 were housed at the YWCA opposite the police station and the senior girls at the YWCA near the Kandy lake. Miss. Calveriey had a busy time cycling from one place to another supervising the classes, so she invested in a scooter which made her day easier. In 1917 the first company of Girl Guides was formed on the island, and the school was the first to play netball in Sri Lanka.

Houses system

The four houses are Eaton, Langdon, Lawrance, and Sansom. Their respective house colours are, light blue, dark green, yellow and dark blue.

- Eaton House (Symbolizes the sky and it is for patience and honesty)
- Langdon House (Symbolizes the earth and it is for prosperity and productivity)
- Lawrence House (Symbolizes the sun and it is for brightness and sharpness)
- Sansom House (Symbolizes the mountain and it is for courage and stability)

Societies

Science Society

Since its inception, the Science Society has been an outstanding educational society in Kandy Girls' High School, which has contributed to bring out the talents and skills of the female students in the science department. The Science Society is also the guardian and leader of Astronomy Society, Drug Prevention Unit, Young Explorers Society, Mihiruwa Environment Society and Geography Society.

The annual Science Day, which is organized to provide an opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills of the students of the region, consists of inter-school competitions and lectures. In all the educational and extra-curricular activities of the above-mentioned associations and societies, the Higher Girls' College Science Association provides an indescribable, immense guidance.

The aim of Kandy Girls' High School is to produce educated and intelligent professionals or educators for the Sri Lankan society. The Science Society is working to achieve this goal. It is a matter of great pleasure to state that the majority of respected educators we see today have worked as active members of the Kandy Girls' High School Science Association.

Astronomical Society

Ever since the Astronomy Society was officially established in 1997, it has contributed enormously to the popularisation of astronomy in Sri Lanka, not only to the school but also to the whole country. has become a scientific association.

Since the year 1997, the association has launched various activities and workshops to develop astronomical knowledge.

The year 2001 was a very important year for this association because it was the first night camp organised by a girls' school in the island with the participation of students from many schools in the island. It was named "Astro Eve 2001" and the chief guest was Dr. Chandana Jayaratne.

In 2003, it participated in the march organised by the School Development Society and the Association of Alumni.

In the year 2005, this association organised the night camp "Universe Rings of the Universe" which helped the students to develop their astronomy knowledge and observation skills. Also in the year 2005, in the educational exhibition "Elysium 2005" organised by the school, this association successfully organized an educational booth.^{[ citation needed ]}

The year 2006 turned out to be a crucial year for the Astronomy Society of Kandy Girls' High School as it launched a project to develop Inter-School Astronomy (CPDIA) called "Odessey has Begun" in collaboration with Ranabima Royal College, Kandy.^{[ citation needed ]}

In the year 2008, this association conducted the Astronomy Night Camp named "The Intimations of the Invisible". The association introduced the Ruth Allen Challenge Cup, and Kandy Dharmaraja College won the first place in the astronomy knowledge measurement competition. In 2009, in the middle of many obstacles, called "The Transition from the Invisible" astronomy night was organised. There E. Labroy introduced the Challenge Cup, which was successfully held with the participation of 14 schools. The invited guests were Dr. Chandana Jayaratne and Dr. Sarath Bandaranaike. The Labroy Challenge Cup was won by Dharmaraja College, Kandy.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2010, the association organised an astronomy night called "In Quest for Visibility".^{[ citation needed ]}

Media Unit

The Media Unit of Kandy Girls' High School is an active unit in the school to produce young media personalities. The unit organises the all-island, trilingual, inter-school Media Day Competition and the Media Day as "Shasthra Dhara" annually.^[3]

Drug Prevention Unit

The drug prevention unit is another active unit in the school. In 2009, this unit organised the drug and prevention day as "Tempora 2009". This program was successfully conducted with the participation of other schools. This program also had a citizenship development program. It was applauded by all present.

Traffic Control Unit

The traffic control unit is a unit that works diligently for the safety of Kandy Girls' High School. This unit is not only for the students of Kandy Girls' High School, but also for the students of Kandy's Vihara Maha Devi Girls' School, which is located next to it, by guiding them while crossing the highway. Control provides great service.

Sports

The school's chess team has won considerable success in multiple achievements in both international, all-island and provincial tournaments.^[4] In 2013, school won the All Island under 15 'B' Division Badminton Championship for the Janaka Bogollagama Memorial Shield.^[5] In the same year, they became the champions in chess for the fourth successive year at the All-Island Schools Chess Championship.^[6] In 2017, The Under 11 chess team became the champions of the Under 11 Girls’ (‘A’ Division) event at the All- Island Chess festival for the second consecutive time. In 2014 the team became all-island champions of their respective under 9 age category.^[7]

In 2011, they won the Central Province Schools under 19 Table Tennis, Volleyball (under 19) Championships and under 14 and under 15 'Milo' netball titles in tournaments organised by the Central Province Education Department.^[8] In 2018, the girls won Under 18 Provincial Netball Championship.^[9] In 2019, girls won several events at the Junior Nationals, Sir John Tarbat Senior Athletic Championship and All Island Relay Championship.^[10]

The school has produced several notable netball players to national team such as Maheesha Bandara, Venuki Boyagoda, Faika Feroze and Yohani Nilupuli de Silva.^[11]

Past principals

S. Langdon was the first principal of the school who had the tenure from 1879 to 1880. R. Allen was the last Methodist principal. In 1945, Grace Paul became the first Sri Lankan principal in the school’s history. In 1964, Hema Jayasinghe became the first old girl to become the principal of the school.^[13]

Name	Entered office	Departed office
S. Langdon	1879	1880
Payne	1879	1880
E. S. Hay	1880	1883
Young	1883	1888
M. R. Smith	1888	1890
Lawrance	1890	1900
F. R. Sansom	1901	1919
J. Green Calverly	1920	1921
C. M. Gordon	1921	1934
E. M. Shire	1934	1935
R. Allen	1935	1944
G. J. Paul	1945	1955
Erica La Brooy	1955	1963
Hema Jayasinghe	1964	1967
Charitha Abayaratna	1967	1969
T. K. Ekanayake	1969	1990
H. M. M. K. Amunugama	1990	2000
G. N. Silva	2000	2002
R. N. Amarasinghe	2002	2003
K. D. S. Perera	2003	2004
H. M. Wataliyadda	2004	2007
Malkanthi Abeygunasekera	2007	2023
Nilanka Abeywardene	2023	to present

Notable alumni

Irangani Serasinghe ^[14] - a Sri Lankan actress
Jean Arasanayagam - an English-language poet and fiction writer

Related Research Articles

Kandy is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city is situated in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Tooth Relic, one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. Historically the local Buddhist rulers resisted Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial expansion and occupation.

The Sri Lanka Scout Association, is a Scouting organization in Sri Lanka operated by the Ceylon Scout Council. The Ceylon Scout Council is a corporation formed by Act No. 13 of 1957. The association became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1953. The coeducational Sri Lanka Scout Association has 33,709 members as of 2014. in 2016 the year that the National Organisation reached 104 years the Scouting Population in Sri Lanka had increased to 55,078 the growth taking place against the year 2015 was 29% which was a great achievement by the SLSA.

Education in Sri Lanka has a long history that dates back two millennia. While the Constitution of Sri Lanka does not provide free education as a fundamental right, the constitution mentions that 'the complete eradication of illiteracy and the assurance to all persons of the right to universal and equal access to education at all levels" in its section on directive principles of state policy at (27. Sri Lanka's population had an adult literacy rate of 96.3% in 2015, which is above average by world and regional standards. Computer literacy in 2017 28.3% and phone users in 2017 105%, website users 32% in 2017. Education plays a major part in the life and culture of the country, which dates back to 543 BC. Sri Lanka's modern educational system modeled after Christian missionary system was brought about by its integration into the British Empire in the 19th century. Education currently falls under the control of both the Central Government and the Provincial Councils, with some responsibilities lying with the Central Government and the Provincial Council having autonomy for others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maliyadeva College</span> National school in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka

Maliyadeva College is a national school controlled by the Sri Lankan central government. It is located in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, and was established in 1888 by the Buddhist Theosophical Society, led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. It is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools. Today, the school accommodates 5,000 students. The term "Devans" is used to refer to the former and present pupils of Maliyadeva College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dharmaraja College</span> National / public school in Central Province, Sri Lanka

Dharmaraja College, founded in 1887, is a boys' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 300+ teaching staff and over 5,000 students. The school has many notable alumni including the first President of Sri Lanka William Gopallawa, A. E. Goonesinha, T.B Kehelgamuwa, Chamara Kapugedera, Sudarshana Pathirana and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingswood College, Kandy</span> National / public school in Kandy, Central Province, Sri Lanka

Kingswood College is a Sri Lankan Public school offering boys primary and secondary education. The school was founded by Louis Edmund Blaze on 4 May 1891, with eleven students at a site on Pavilion Street in Kandy. Later, the school was moved to Randles Hill. Since then, the school has grown considerably, having over 3,500 students and 300+ faculty members. It is one of the oldest schools in Kandy and is commonly known as KCK.

Nalanda College is a leading Buddhist school in Sri Lanka where provides primary and secondary education for Sri Lankan boys. The school was established by P. de S. Kularatne as an offshoot of Ananda College Colombo and was registered as a separate school on 1 November 1924.

Sujatha Vidyalaya is a girls' school in Matara, Sri Lanka. The Matara Buddhist Society founded the school as a private Buddhist institution in 1929. It was the first Buddhist girls' school in Matara. Today, the Government of Sri Lanka operates Sujatha Vidyalaya as a national school; it was one of the initial group of schools to receive this designation.

Mahamaya Girls’ College is a public girls' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Located in the centre of Kandy, overlooking the Kandy Lake, the school is named after Queen Mahamaya, the mother of Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha.

The Church of Ceylon is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extraprovincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointment of the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo, James Chapman and until 1950 it consisted of a single diocese; in that year a second diocese was established at Kurunegala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. B. Jayah</span> Sri Lankan educationalist, politician, diplomat and Muslim community leader

Tuan Burhanuddin Jayah, was a Sri Lankan educationalist, politician, diplomat and Muslim community leader and considered one of Sri Lanka's national heroes. He started his career as a school teacher and retired after serving 27 years as the principal of Zahira College, Colombo. Under his stewardship, Zahira College became one of the leading schools in the country.

Dharmaraja–Kingswood Cricket Encounter is the annual cricket match between two of the largest government-run national boys' schools in Kandy, Sri Lanka: Dharmaraja College, Kandy and Kingswood College, Kandy. It is the oldest cricket match series in the central province and second oldest in Sri Lanka, having been played for 131 years. It is also known as the Battle of the Maroons, referring to the school colours of the two schools.

Netball is popular in several parts of Asia. The IFNA Asia region includes countries such as Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. The major regional competition is the Asian Netball Championship. In 1994, the first Asian Youth Championship was held in Hong Kong.

Lake View Park International Scout Centre , is a scout campsite, Scout Activity Centre, training and conference centre for Scouting groups, which belongs to the 1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scout Group. This 57-acre site is located in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Sir Bennet Soysa, CBE was a Ceylonese politician and philanthropist. He was a member of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon and the Senate of Ceylon. He was also Mayor of Kandy on five occasions and dedicated his wealth for the propagation of Buddhism.

Hillwood College is an independent private girls' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka founded by British Anglican missionaries of the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society in 1890. The school is situated in the Kandy Lake round. The school is managed by the Church of Ceylon and falls under the Diocese of Kurunegala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pushpadana Girls' College, Kandy</span> State School in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Pushpadana Girls' College is a Girls' school located in Kandy, Sri Lanka, founded in 1942 by the Sri Pushpadana Society, Kandy. Pushpadana Girls' College is situated within the historical city of Kandy.

Star Party Sri Lanka, commonly known as Star Party, is an astronomical observation competition held in Sri Lanka since 2004, jointly organised by Ananda College, Colombo and Mahamaya Girls' College, Kandy. It is the longest-running inter-school astronomical observation competition in Sri Lanka. It happens annually at the University of Peradeniya premises typically in the first quarter of the year. However, in some years it was held in the other periods of the year due to various reasons. Star Party is considered the most important event in the Sri Lankan amateur astronomical calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferguson High School, Ratnapura</span> National school in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka

Ferguson High School is a National School in Sri Lanka affiliated with the Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya located in Ratnapura District. School has two sections - the Primary section, which serves students from Grade 1 to Grade 5, and the Secondary section, which serves students from Grade 6 to Grade 13.

References

↑ "Razor-sharp confidence". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
↑ ":: Our School ::". Archived from the original on 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
↑ ITN News (2023-11-19). "ශස්ත්‍ර ධාරා '23". Independent_Television_Network .^{[ unreliable source? ]}
1 2 "Girls' High School chess players steal the limelight". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
↑ "Girls High School, Kandy under 15 Badminton champions". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
↑ "Girls High School, Kandy - chess champs". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
↑ "Girls' High School Kandy does it again". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
↑ "Girls High School, Kandy a successful season in sport activities". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
1 2 "Girls High School, Kandy Netball Champions". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
↑ "Girls High School athletes excel". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
↑ "Girls' High School has produced top netball players". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
↑ "Annual Inter House Athletics Meet of Girls' High School Kandy 2020". Quadrangle. 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
↑ "Past Principals". Girls’ High School Kandy official website. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
↑ Abayasekara, Anne. "Those schoolgirl days!". Review of Girls' High School-Kandy Reminiscences (1879-2004). O.G.A. Souvenir. Rootsweb. Retrieved 2007-12-08.

External links

Girls' High School, Kandy: Homepage