Dharmapala Vidyalaya

Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya, established in 1940 and it is the largest co-educational institution and the most populated suburban school in Sri Lanka. The school is situated on a land donated by Anagarika Dharmapala, whom the school is named after. The school was upgraded to National school status in 1991.

Dharmapala Vidyalaya ධර්මපාල විද්‍යාලය தர்மபால வித்தியாலயம்
College Shrine Room
Address
High Level Road Pannipitiya , 10230 Sri Lanka
Coordinates	6°50′37″N 79°57′11″E
Information
Type	Public
Motto	Thumehi Kichchan Athappan (Buddhist quote from the Dhammapada).
Religious affiliation(s)	Buddhist
Established	8 December 1940 (1940-12-08)
Founder	Patrick de Silva Kularatne
School district	Colombo
Principal	R. A. Maheshika Rupasinghe
Teaching staff	653
Grades	1–13
Gender	Co-educational
Age range	6–19
Enrollment	8,500+
Schedule	7:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Color(s)	Maroon and purple
Athletics	Yes
Sports	Yes
Rivals	Rahula College
Affiliation	Buddhist
Alumni	Palians
Website	www.dharmapalavidyalaya.org
Flag of Dharmapala Vidyalaya

College

Location

The school is located in the suburb of Pannipitiya in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka. It occupies an area of 7.3 ha (18 acres), along the Colombo - Batticaloa Highway, bordered by Dharmapala Mawatha to the east, Arawwala Road to the west and a residential area to the south.

Donation of the land

The land was originally owned by Anagarika Dharmapala and was donated by the Don Hewawitharana Family to the Mahabodhi Society, who allocated it to the school in 1940.

History

P. De S Kularathna (founder)

In 1940 an English secondary school was established at Pannipitiya, as a branch of Ananda College, Colombo and was named Dharmapala College. On opening day two major events took place: the opening of Sri Devamitta Dharmapala Thero Memorial building by the Minister of Health, W. A. de Silva, and the ceremonial opening of Dharmapala College by the general manager of Buddhist Schools, Walter Wijeynaike.

Dharmapala Vidyalaya was managed by the Buddhist Theosophical Society under the direct supervision of the principal of Ananda College, Colombo. It was a school for boys and girls and conducted classes from kindergarten to the matriculation form, in English. Dharmapala Vidyalaya commenced on 8 January 1941. It's founder was Patrick de Silva Kularatne and it's principal was Dr. J. E. Jayasooriya. B. A. Hons a British gentlemen acted as the first principal of the school and was joined by a number of academic staff, including.

• R. L. N. de Zoysa
• E. Flesinger
• M. T. Peries
• Soma Wijesinghe
• D. D. Arangala
• H. D. D. Gunasekara
• D. A. Jayamanna

The first registered student was Somabandu Vidyapathi, who completed his education and later became a painter and sculptor.

"ධර්මපාල විද්‍යාලය ආරම්භ වූ අවධියේ දී" සෝමබන්ධු විද්‍යාපති මහතාගේ රේඛා චිත්‍රයකි

Anagarika Dharmapala statue

During World War II a section of Ananda College, along with the teachers, shifted to the Dharmapala premises due to fear of war. To accommodate these students more cadjan sheds were built. Later six permanent classrooms were built for the primary section. The then-principal of Ananda College, P. de S Kularathna, led this project. With the exit of Jayasooriya, D. C. Lawris took over as principal in 1943.

The school registered as an independent institute and a Class 1AB school for higher education. With the help of financial donors and with the money collected by the students, another five classrooms were built for the primary section.

By February 1947 there were 1,420 students and H.S.C. classes were started. Lawris left the school to take on the role as principal of Ananda College, Colombo.

Important historical milestones

• 06.12.1941 1st anniversary celebrations together with the prize giving under the patronage of Sir Baron Jayatileke.
• 06.06.1951 First soccer match in the newly build ground.
• 28.10.1951 First cricket match in the ground against Mahinda College Galle.
• 25.02.1952 Issuing the first school magazine “Dhampal Vidhuhal Sagarava”
• 14.06.1962 Dharmapala College a was taken over by the government.
• 06.09.1965 25 year anniversary celebration. His Excellency Mr. Wlliam Gopallawa – Governor-General of Ceylon participated as the Chief Guest.
• 08.12.1990 Dharmapala College 50th anniversary official stamp issue.
• 07.11.2010 Earning ISO 9001:2008 quality certification.
• 28.02.2011 Inauguration of the Swimming pool by His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakse - the President of Sri Lanka.
• 06.02.2012 First Big Match cricket encounter with Rahula College, Matara at the Uyanwatta stadium.

Current facilities

Dharmapala College Main Hall

Dharmapala College Ground

The College, occupies a 18 acres (73,000 m²) site and accommodates approximately 8,500 students and employs 650 teaching staff.

It provides education for students from grade 1 to G.C.E advanced level with a range of facilities.

Sports Facilities

• 2.0 ha (5 acres) international level cricket ground with six centre turf wickets.
• 0.40 ha (1 acre) rectangular ground, for soccer and rugby.
• Cricket nets
• 25 m (82 ft) swimming pool with spectator and changing room facilities
• Badminton stadium
• Basketball courts with flood lights.
• Gymnastic gymnasium
• Netball courts
• Volleyball courts
• Shooting range
• Table Tennis

Houses

1951 - Aerial view of Dharmapala Vidyalaya

College old buildings

Houses of the College

House Name	House Colour	House Emblem
Shakya House	Red Colour	Lotus Flower
Maurya House	Blue Colour	Peafowl
Soorya House	Yellow Colour	Sun
Nanda House	Green Colour	Parrot

Clubs and Societies

There are over 40 active student organisations at the college.

Senior Western Band- Boys

According to the concept of the former principal, K. G. Wimalasena, the junior western band was formed in 2007. Now it has grown as a leading senior western band among the other schools in Sri Lanka.

• Won the 1st place in the all Island Western Music Competitions (Mixed instrument category) in 2013.
• Won the 1st place in Ranaviru Sena Band competitions in 2014.
• Won the 1st place in Rhythm of J’pura indoor competitions in 2014.
• Won the 2nd place in all Island Western Music and Dance competitions in 2015. (Mixed instrument group)
• Won the 2nd place in all Island Western Music and Dance Competitions in 2017.

Cadet Union

• Winning the Herman Los cup at the highest achievement of the cadet crops.
• Received the 3rd place in the final camp of the 19th batch of 40 schools in 2013.
• The 3rd place was purchased from 2 championships and 12 official promotions.
• There are 24 guard (Sammana Mura) for the occasion and for the 1st time in the history of the school.

Sports

Dharmapala - Rahula Big Match

Battle of Golden Lions

The annual big match, the Battle of Golden Lions (රුහුණු -මායා සටන), between Dharmapala Vidyala and Rahula College is the major sport event in the school.

The Henry Steel Olcott Memorial Cricket Tournament

The Henry Steele Olcott Memorial Cricket Tournament is an annual cricket tournament conducted among the past cricketers of eight premier Buddhist schools in honor of Col. Olcott, the founder of Buddhist education in Sri Lanka.

Principals

Prof. J. E. Jayasuriya - founder Principal of Dharmapala.

1946 - The teaching staff and students with the then Principal Mr. D. C. Lawris.

Prof. J. E. Jayasuriya - founder Principal of Dharmapala College Pannipitiya.

Prof. J. E. Jayasuriya service to education starts with being the founder Principal of Dharmapala College Pannipitiya in 1940. At the inauguration function of Dharmapala College, Mr. P.D.S. Kularatna introduced the pioneer principal thus: “A 22 year old energetic gentleman with the highest educational qualification has been appointed as principal of Dharmapala College. That fact itself I see as a good sign to the future development of Dharmapala College.” This prophecy has become true of Dharmapala College’s development as the premier mixed school in the island. Since he became Principal of Dharmapala all his efforts and energy were directed to bring up its education to the highest level and develop infrastructure facilities. With his able administration and dedication of the staff, within a short period Dharmapala College achieved a prestige not second to Ananda College.

Principals of Dharmapala College

No.	Name	From	To	Special Notes
01.	J. E. Jayasuriya	1940	1943	Founder Principal of Dharmapala College.
02.	D. C. Lawris	1943	1947
03.	G. C. Edirisinghe	1947	1956
04.	R. M. Abeywardhana	1959	1960
05.	G. B. Bannehaka	1969	1971
06.	B. S. Gunesekara	1971	1976
07.	N. B. Perera	1976	1981
08.	D. C. Danapala	1981	1983
09.	R. T. Direcksze	1983	1985
10.	G. R. W. G. Gunawardana	1985	1991
11.	S. H. Kumarasinghe	1991	1994
12.	R. S. Rajapaksha	1995	2004
13.	K. G. Wimalasena	2004	2016
14.	Oshara Panditharathna	2016	2020
15.	K. G. Wimalasena	2020	2021
16.	R. A. Maheshika Rupasinghe	2022	present

College union

The Past Pupils' Association (PPA) formerly operated under the name Dharmapala Old Boys Association, it was founded on 4 February 1947 under the guidance of David Silva, a teacher at the time. The first elected president of this association was G. C. Edirisinghe.

The Past Pupils’ Association (PPA) of Dharmapala College currently has a membership of over 3,200.

Notable alumni

See also: Category:Alumni of Dharmapala Vidyalaya

This article contains dynamic lists that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Name	Notability	Reference
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake	Prime Minister (2000–2001, 2005–2010), member parliament - Horana (1960–1977), Kalutara (1994–2010)
Kamal Gunaratne	Major General, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence (2019–present)
Oliver Ranasinghe	Commander of Sri Lankan Air Force (1994–1998)
Rohan Daluwatte	Commander of Sri Lankan Army (1996–1998)
M. P. Perera	Vice Chancellor University of Kelaniya (1973–1974, 1983–1985)
Soma Edirisinghe	Corporate Executive (chairman EAP Holdings), Film Producer, Philanthropist
Tissa Abeysekara	Filmwriter, Director, Producer
Eva Wansundera	Solicitor General (2011), Attorney General (2011–2012), Supreme Court Judge (2012–present)
Wimal Wickramasinghe	Member of Parliament - Ratnapura (1989–1994), Deputy Minister of Finance (1989–1994)
Asoka Wadigamangawa	Member of Parliament - Puttalam (1989–2000), Deputy Minister of Lands (1989–1994)
H. D. L. Leelaratne	Member of Parliament - Seruvila (1977–1989)
Chinthaka Jayasinghe	former Sri Lankan cricketer
Rohana Weerasinghe	Musician, Composer, Singer, Teacher
Thumindu Dodantenna	Actor, screenwriter, Lecturer
Narada Warnasuriya	Vice Chancellor University of Sri Jayewardenepura (2005-2008)