Sir John Kothalawala College

Sir John Kothalawala College (Sir John Kothalawala Maha Vidyalaya) is a public college in the town of Kurunegala, Sri Lanka. It was established on 16 January 1974 and was formerly known as Bandaranayake Vidyalaya.[1]

Sir John Kothalawala College ශ්‍රීමත් ජෝන් කොතලාවල විද්‍යාලය
Address
Dambulla Road Kurunegala Kurunegala , Sri Lanka , North Western Province, Sri Lanka , 60000 Sri Lanka
Coordinates	7°29′40″N 80°22′08″E
Information
Type	Government School
Motto	Vidya Sarvashya Bhushanam (විද්‍යා සර්වශ්‍ය භූෂණම්)[උගත් කම සෑමකල්හිම ආභාරණයයි] (Knowledge is the jewel of all time)
Founded	14 February 1974
School district	Kurunegala Education Zone
Authority	Ministry of Education
Principal	D. W. D. Dehipagoda
Grades	Class 1–13
Gender	Mixed
Age range	6–19
Enrollment	6,000+
Language	English and Sinhalese
Houses	Vijaya, Gemunu, Thissa, Perakum
Colour(s)	Blue, red, green, yellow
Nickname	JOHNZ
Website	http://www.kothalawala.sch.lk

History

Sir John Kothalawala College opened on 16 January 1974 in the palace of Bishop Lakdasa De Mel. At that time, the bishop's palace was used for classrooms. The college was initially known as Bandaranayake Vidyalaya and was under the sponsorship of Piyadasa Wijesinghe, a former member of parliament. The objective in the establishment of the school was to provide more opportunities for youth from rural communities, away from overcrowded and competitive popular schools. The college opened with six teachers and fourteen students. With 175 teachers and 4600 students, it is the largest school in North Western Province.[2]

School Flag

The school flag is mainly coloured green, the official colour of the school. The school crest is at the bottom of the flag. There are four coloured strips, in the colours of the four school houses, at the hoist of the flag.[3]

Principals

Name	Entered Office	Departed Office
H. M. Premarathne Hitinayake	6 January 1974	8 October 1977
S. W. R. T. B. Gannoruwa	8 October 1977	1 July 1983
K. M. A. Kulathunga	1 July 1983	20 April 1993
S. B. Senevirathne	20 April 1993	4 April 1995
J. Rathnayake	4 April 1995	28 January 2008
Samaranayake Mallikarachchi	28 January 2008	6 October 2011
W. M. Saman Indrarathne	6 October 2011	24 July 2014
H. M. Gunapala	24 July 2014	6 July 2015
D. W. D. Dehipagoda	6 July 2015	-

Past Names of the school

Year	Name
1974	Bandaranayake College
1977	President's College (Primary)
Present	Sir John Kothalawala College

Sports

Annual Big Match

The Battle of Greens is the annual big cricket match between Sir John Kothalawala College and Wayamba Royal College. Sir John Kothalawala College won the last match in 2016.

Annual Sports Meet

There is an annual sporting meet. Students are divided into four houses: Thissa, Vijaya, Gemunu, and Perakum.

Notable Achievements

• Top 10 Men's 400m,Youth Olympic 2018 - Dilan Bogoda [4]

References

1. "History". Sir John Kothalawala M.V. 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
2. "About Us". Sir John Kothalawala M.V. 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
3. "School Flag". Sir John Kothalawala M.V. 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
4. http://www.thepapare.com/shelinda-stuns-new-pb-enters-top-10/

External links

• Facebook page