Rahula College (Sinhala: රාහුල විද්යාලය, romanized: Rāhula Vidyālaya) is a boys' school in Sri Lanka, located in Matara district. Though it was originally a private Buddhist school, now it is run by the Government of Sri Lanka as a National School. Rahula College 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.
History
In 1921, Frederick Gordon Pearce (principal of Mahinda College, Galle), D.T.W. Rajapaksha Ralahami and Sir R. S. S. Gunawardana established the "Buddhists Society". On 1 May 1923, the Buddhists Society opened a school named Parakramabhahu Vidyalaya, in a rented building on Main Street, Matara. Parakramabhahu Vidyalaya's motto was "May I be a true Buddhist". Hewabowalage Yasapala was the first student. Parakramabhahu Vidyalaya was shifted to the "Saram Mudali Walawwa" which was donated by C. A. Odiris de Silva, with the new name of "Rahula College". C.A. Odiris de Silva's second son C.A. Ariyathilake, who also donated Matara's leading girls' school Sujatha Vidyalaya, donated this school to the government.[1]
Rahula College currently has over 6,000 students.[2]
Matara District
Principals
Period
Name
1st
1923 – 1932
G. William De Silva
2nd
1932 – 1936
C. Amirthalingam
3rd
1936 – 1937
J. R. Bhatt
4th
1937 – 1956
D. J. Kumarage
5th
1956 – 1973
B. P. Ariyawansa
6th
1973 – 1979
B. Suriarachchi
7th
1979 – 1983
A. H. Godavitharana
8th
1983 – 1986
P. Wijewardana
9th
1986 – 1987
Mahinda Jagoda
10th
1987 – 1989
N. Weerathunga
11th
1989 – 1990
A. M. Liyanage
12th
1990 – 1998
N. Ariyawansha
13th
1998 – 2002
Sarath Gunarathna
14th
2002 – 2010
Kithsiri Liyanagamage
15th
2010 – 2016
Nimal Dissanayake
16th
2016 –2021
Francis Welage
17th
2021 –2023
Sudath Samarawickrama
18th
2023 –present
Samitha Kurukulasooriya
Primary section
Rahula Primary is located in Welegoda. It was established in 1991, at the site of the former Sudarshana Model School. There are classes from grade 1 to grade 5.
Sports
Sports at the college include athletics, basketball, boxing, chess, cricket, rugby, soccer, swimming, volleyball, table tennis, badminton and karate.
The annual Rahula - Thomas football encounter or Battle of Golden Ensigns, is an annual football match played between Rahula College and St. Thomas' College, Matara.[3]
In 2012 Rahula College and Dharmapala College commenced an annual match, the Battle of Golden Lions (රුහුණු -මායා සටන). [4][5] The inaugural match was held on Uyanwatta Stadium, with Rahula College hosting the event.[6]
Houses
There are four student houses in the college, named after historical figures in South Asia. They are:
