Past Principals of Kingswood College

Kingswood College Kandy which bears a glorious history of 132 years was established on the 4th of May 1891 by the veteran educationalist Louis Edmond Blaze at No.11 Pavilion Street, Kandy with a handful of students. At the start it was called the “Boys’ High School” and as a free levying school its charges were somewhat higher than those charged elsewhere.

In 1894 the management of the school was handed over to the Methodist Mission due to the financial difficulties encountered by the founder Principal in running the school. From 1894 “Boys’ High School” joined its female counterpart “Girls’ High School” as part of the Methodist Mission education that prevailed in Kandy. In that very year Mr. M.D. Hanze assumed duties at Kingswood as the first assistant teacher.

The location at No.11 Pavilion Street was not sufficient to cater the increasing number of students. Consequently, the adjoining house at No.10 of Pavilion Street was annexed by the college management.

The year 1895 marks an important milestone in the history of the school as having the first and most successful prize giving among the Kandy schools. A unique feature we came across in the prize giving of this majestic institution is the recitation of the prologue which is compiled on the present and past events of the school, the country and the whole world. In the year 1897 Mr. E.M. Spencer joined the school and pioneered in organizing the 1st annual sportsmeet and the 1st “Prefects of Games” in the college. The gradual increase of the student number made the responsible authorities to think about the necessity of shifting the school to a more spacious premises at “Brownrigg Street” in the end of the year 1897. With the moving of the school to the “Brownrigg Street” the infrastructure of the school developed. The “Main Hall” of the school was declared open on the 20th of June 1898. The schools original name “Boys’ High School” was replaced by “Kingswood College” which was a remarkable juncture in the history of the college.

In the year 1900 the first comprehensive school text book on the history of Sri Lanka wri`en by the founder Principal L.E. Blaze was published bringing the name of “Kingswood” to the limelight. The house system was introduced to the school in 1922 and the names of the houses represented the public schools in England, named Eton, Harrow, Rugby and Winchester. Classes in the primary section are still given the names of the four houses and the competitions are also held according to the names of the houses.

The founder principal L.E. Blaze began the practice of calling his students “Gentlemen” which is a unique feature of Kingswood. The mo`o of the school in Latin “Fide et Virtute” as was customary at that time, distinctive school colours maroon and deep blue, and the words of the school song are a`ributed to the founder Principal. The school maintains an eminent position in the Sri Lankan schools’ history as the first school to employ a female teacher in a boys’ school, the first school to introduce Rugby football as a team sport, and one of the first five schools in the country to establish a scout troop within the college.

After the completion of an unblemished career of 32 years as the Principal of Kingswood, Sir L.E. Blaze retired in the year 1923, by the time of his retirement the school had been established as a leading private school in the country. Before his retirement the founder Principal planned for a shift of the school from the small premises it occupied. He took the first steps in locating a new site for the school and designing the new buildings before his retirement. Thanks to the generous gift of money from a British industrialist, Sir John Randles, this present site and the buildings that rose to the height of the skies were made into reality. The new location and the railway station just opposite it was named “Randles Hill” as an honour to the main benefactor of Kingswood of the modern times, The new buildings were opened in the year 1925 under Sir L.E. Blaze’s successor Rev. E. Pearson whose tenure at Kingswood was four years. The successor of Rev. E. Pearson were Messes, O.L. Gibbon and F.A.J. Udng who consolidated the work of the founder Principal from 1924- 1942. The school developed to a leading Methodist school which contained a student body of a happy mix of Buddhist, Christian, Hindus and Muslims.

In the year 1942, Mr. P.H. Nonis bears the honor of becoming the first Sri Lankan to head the school. The practice of sending Englishmen as Principals came to an end with the wartime conditions. The service of Mr. P.H. Nonis was 15 years and the free education system was introduced in the year 1940. Mr. P.H. Nonis chaired over the transition of Kingswood from an independent school to a school in the state system although it was not yet a state school.

Mr. Kenneth de Lannerolle assumed duties at Kingswood from the premiere Methodist Mission School in the island. During his tenure in the year 1960, the school became a state school. After the conversion of the college to a state school the number of students started increasing. To meet the increasing number, Mr. Lannerolle persistently searched for funds from the parents, well-wishers and Old Boys.

Mr. Labutale assumed duties at Kingswood College Kandy in 1967 after the retirement of Mr. Lannerolle. In the year 1974, Mr. S.B.M. Premachandra became Principal of Kingswood. Mr. E.S. Liyanage was the first old boy who became the Principal of Kingswood College and served his alma ma`er for a period of 7 years. He was succeeded by Mr. K.V.N. Herath and his period of service lasted from 1977 to 1989. Mr. R.B. Rambukwella was appointed as the Principal in year 1989. Mr. Nelson Rathnayake was appointed as the Principal in year 1998.

Mr. R. Chandrasekara joined Kingswood in the year 1999 and he served the institution for 13 years. During his period Kingswood flourished in infrastructure, sports and in academic spheres. Mr. P.G.S. Bandara who assumed duties in the year 2014 contributed immensely to uplift the academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities of the college. Mr. R.D.M.P. Weerathunga was appointed as the Principal in the year 2016, his period of reign at Kingswood marks the laying of the foundation for the new building which now contains all the classes from the grade 6-9 which provides spacious classrooms for the gentlemen. The boardroom of the office premises is also an idea of Mr. R.D.M.P. Weerathunga which helps to hold conferences at the college. Mr. Weerathunga made arrangements for the establishment of the technology stream and even with less equipment the gentlemen were enthusiastically involved in their subjects.

In the year 2020 the present principal Mr. K.W.D. Upali Chandrakumara was entrusted with the task of bearing the burden of Kingswood collage while handling the administration of the college in a balanced manner. He assumed duties at a time that the country was experiencing the outcomes of the covid 19 pandemic. Consequently he began his work with the upliftment of the infrastructure facilities. Hence smart classrooms were set up at the school to conduct online sessions to the students and smart boards were fixed to the Common rooms. At present all the primary grades, some of the A/L grades and some of the secondary grades are provided with the smartboard facilities. The children are experiencing the prospect of being educated in smart class rooms which is a timely need. The new building was declared open to the children of the secondary level classes and they enjoy learning in a more spacious atmosphere.

A Fully equipped teacher development center was established in the new building and given to the use of teachers to involve themselves in the teaching and learning process. Further we see the renovation of the hostel, auditorium and the agriculture laboratory during the tenure of Mr. Upali Chandrakumara. For the future they have planned and initiated on the construction of the archives and the cafeteria. A record room was open to preserve the records of the students for easy reference. Mr. Upali Chandrakumara leads the college while preserving the traditions and reviewing them according to the timely needs.

The tenure of Mr. Chandrakumara marks the outstanding era of the academic sphere of Kingswood College. The all-island scholarship cut-off mark, is in the 5th place. Kingswood College is at the 5th place in the Kandy zone at the General certificate of the ordinary level examination. It is with pride we state that Kingswood College has secured the 1st district rank in the mathematics stream, and the 1st district rank was secured in Engineering Technology.

The game hockey was revived at Kingswood College which managed to secure several allisland championships bringing glory to the college. Rifle shooting was introduced recently to the college and our gentlemen managed to win the rugby 7s championship as well. The gavel club was initiated at Kingswood College in the year 2021 under the able guidance of the present Principal giving the opportunity to the gentlemen to improve their reading and speaking skills in English. The entrepreneurs club, the robotics society, the inventors’ club and the environmental society were initiated during the period of Mr. Upali Chandrakumara which cater to the upliftment of the personalities of our gentlemen. “The Dehigama Hike” which is one the prominent orienteering expeditions took place recently after 4 years with the inclusion of about 52 schools.

Counselling programs are implemented and conducted by renowned Kingswoodians such as Mr. Isuru Samarakoon to teachers and students to open up their minds to the future and face the challenges in life moderately. To improve the oratorial skills, dubbing and editing skills of the students, media workshops are conducted weekly and monthly by prominent media personalities who are brilliant products of Mother Kingswood.

The role played by all the principals from the foundation of this majestic institution is highly appreciated and we are indeed fortunate as we now reap the harvest of their immeasurable service and toil rendered to this institution. We would be failing in our duty if we don’t mention a word of gratitude to the former and present deputy principals Mr. B.A. Thambapalliai, Mr. H.K. Upasena, Mr. B.N.W.M.N. Boragolla, Mr. Ananda Weerasooriya, Mr. Ariyarathne Bandara, Mrs. H.M.P.K. Nawarathna who bore the brunt of handling the school administration until permanent appointments were made. Their service is highly appreciated and Mother Kingswood is indebted to them for their devotion in carrying out the duties of this institution. The Kingswood family reminds and expresses hearkelt gratititude to all those who toiled in leading Kingswood to the position that she bears at precent