St. Paul's Girls School, Milagiriya
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| St. Paul's Girls' School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
Milagiriya, Colombo | |
| Information | |
| Type | National School |
| Motto | Latin: Per Aspera ad Astra |
| Established | 14 January 1887 |
| Founder | St. Paul's Church of Milagiriya |
| Staff | 250 academic staff |
| Gender | Girls |
| Age | 5 to 19 |
| Enrollment | 5,500 |
| Houses | Bhakti, Deepthi, Keerthi, Maithri, Pragathi, Shakthi |
| Colour(s) | Red and white |
| Former pupils | Old Paulians |
St. Paul's Girls' School is one of the oldest schools for girls, and is situated in Milagiriya, Colombo. The school was founded on 14 January 1887 as a Parish school affiliated to St. Paul's Church with 24 students and four teachers, with Stella Coban (1887 – 1892) as the first principal.[1] In the early years of the school the majority of the students belonged to the Burger community and the medium of education was English. In 1957 the school provided education in Sinhala, Tamil and English mediums.[2]
The school was taken over by the state on 15 December 1961. The school was announced as a Buddhist school in 1964. The annual pirith chanting program was inaugurated in 1966 during the administration of principal, Barbara Gunaasekara. In 1984 a sapling of the Sri Mahabodhi was planted in the school grounds, during the time of principal, K. Pitigala.
In February 1993 during the administration of principal, Gothami Fernando, the school was declared a National School. Today the school has more than 5,500 students with 250 academic staff and 55 non-academic staff.
Principals
[edit]The following are principals from the time of foundation to the present:[3]
- Stella Coban (1887-1922)
- Eda Ondatchi (1922-1937)
- Agnes Spittel (1937-1940)
- Honor Rover (1940-1947)
- Thelma Bud Jansz (1947-1955)
- E. P. Roper (1955-1958)
- Grace Paul (1958-1964)
- Pearl Ratnayake (1964-1967)
- Barbara Gunasekera (1967-1985)
- K. Pitigala (1985-1989)
- Hema Wellalage (1989-1990)
- Gothami Fernando (1990-1995)
- I. P. Alahakoon (1995-2004 )
- Geetha Gunawardena (2004-2014)
- Sumedha Jayaweera (2015–2023)
- Chandi Siriwardene (2023 - 2024 )
- Surekha Siriwardene (2024 to present )
Notable alumni
[edit]| Name | Notability | Honours and awards |
|---|---|---|
| Chandani Seneviratne | Actress | Dubai International Film Award, Presidential Award, Sarasaviya Award, Lanka Live Award, Hiru Golden Film Award[citation needed] |
| Kaushalya Fernando | Actress | |
| Yashoda Wimaladharma | Actress | |
| Menik Kurukulasuriya | Actress | |
| Damitha Abeyratne | Actress | |
| Paboda Sandeepani | Actress | Raigam tele award, Sumathi award |
| Umayangana Wickramasinghe | Actress | |
| Sujani Menaka | Actress | |
| Uresha Ravihari | Singer | |
| Abhisheka Wimalaweera | Singer |
General References
[edit]- ^ Kotelawala, Joanne (4 March 2012). "St. Paul's Girls' School's vision is to endow the world with righteous individuals". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ "130th celebration of St. Paul's Girls' School, Milagiriya". The Sunday Times. 29 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/stpauls.html [user-generated source]