Richmond College (Sri Lanka) - History

History

The founder of Richmond was the Wesleyan missionary Rev. George Baugh.It was later renamed as Richmond College in 1882 as it was standing on Richmond Hill. Rev. Samuel Langdon was the first Principal of the Galle High School. He is also credited with having a proper school organized. The School began with a staff of 8 of which some were drawn from the old school and with 104 pupils on the roll. This opened the door for higher education. The last Principal of the Galle High School was Rev. Samuel Hill who advised the Mission to rename the school to Richmond. Six years later in 1882 the school was renamed "Richmond College" and Rev. Samuel Rowse Wilkins became the first Principal of Richmond.

Latin, Mathematics, Science, Arts and Religion were included in the curriculum, and children were trained to sit for British public examinations. A prize giving was held in its very first year, and a library with 500 books was opened in 1878.

The first College magazine was published in 1887. It was only the second occasion that a school in Ceylon had produced a magazine. The same year, the English Literary Union was formed and cricket was started in the school. In 1894, under the principal-ship of Rev. Hartley, the Richmond College Old Boys' Association was formed. Another important occurrence during that year was the establishment of the College Cadet Corps. Main Hall

Rev. James Horne Darrell assumed duties as principal in 1896. The school experienced both physical expansion as well as qualitative growth. During his period, Richmond rose to be recognized as one of the best schools in the island. At the local University of Cambridge Examinations of 1905, Richmond earned top position among assisted schools and second place among all schools in Ceylon. The same year, the Richmond-Mahinda Cricket Encounter was played for the first time, with the two Principals, Rev. Darrell of Richmond and Mr. F. L. Woodward of Mahinda College, officiating as umpires. Rev. Darrell sacrificed his life for the college nursing the pupils who were afflicted with 'Typhoid' when there was an outbreak in the country and was buried at the Dadalla Cemetery, Galle. The Rev. W. J. T. Small became principal following the death of Rev. Darrell. Reverends Darrell and Small are the only two Principals of Richmond who have been buried side by side and it is a sad coincidence that both these great Principals met with their deaths under tragic circumstances; former due to Typhoid fever and the latter due to an accident.

Commerce was introduced as a subject in 1912. This was also the year in which Football was started at Richmond. In 1915, the 2nd Galle (Richmond) Scouts Group was established. Scouting at Richmond College enjoyed remarkable success from the beginning. The first two King's Scouts in the island were produced by Richmond. In 1916, Ceylon’s first Cub Pack was started at Richmond College. A notable event during the Rev. Small's period was the formation of the National Association at Richmond in 1915. It was in effect a forum within the school for the emerging nationalist movement.

In 1922, Rev. Alec Sneath took over the reins of Richmond College. He was responsible for many measures which brought refinement and qualitative development to the school. In 1926, a well-equipped library was established in a new building. The Science Society was started the same year. In 1931, the Sinhala Literary Union came into being.

In 1940, the last of the missionary principals left, leaving the school in the hands of local graduates. Mr. E. R. de Silva, an old boy (alumni) of the school, had the distinction of becoming the first Ceylonese principal of Richmond College. This was a period which saw major changes in the educational structure of Ceylon. The Free Education Scheme which was devised by Mr. C. W. W. Kannangara, an illustrious old boy of Richmond College, was being implemented, and the school had to be geared to suit the changes. The history of Richmond are from original Mission Records held in the Methodist Mission Library, in Colombo and in England.

In 1962, Richmond College, which was owned by the Methodist Mission, was nationalised. Mr. D. G. Welikala, the first head of Richmond College under state management, was also its first Buddhist principal. With the takeover, the Methodist Vernacular School on Richmond Hill was amalgamated with Richmond. This school was referred to as the "Kaha Iskole" by some and "Pin Iskole (පින් ඉස්කෝලෙ )" meaning Charity school by others has been in existence from the time the Missionaries established a learning seat on Richmond Hill.

During this period, considerable expansion and change had to take place to cater to the new situation. Richmond College faced the challenge of transition so successfully that the then Minister of Education commended Richmond on several occasions, describing it as a model institution among nationalised schools.

Richmond College was one of the first schools in the island to start the teaching of Agriculture as a subject. In 1969, it became the first school in the country to start an Agricultural stream for the Advanced Level.

In 1976, the College celebrated its centenary.In terms of the provisions of the White Paper on Education, Richmond College was named as a National School in 1986. Richmond College Old Boys' Association was incorporated in 1998 by Act #04 of Parliament of Sri Lanka.