Carey Baptist College, popularly known as "Carey College", is a private Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

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Administration

The College which is under the Baptist Missionary Sangamaya (Society) of Ceylon, is run by a Board of Governors headed by a Manager. The administration of the College itself is headed by a Principal. Admission to the College is at the sole discretion of the Principal.

Overview

Nestled in a quiet residential suburb of Colombo, it occupies a land wedged between, Ward Place and Norris Canal road and is boarded by the Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps. to the East, the various residential premises of Ward Place to the South, the Medical College Hostel to the West and Kynsey Road to the North. The College is a private institute and is headed by a Principal who is assisted by a Vice Principal and two Assistant Vice Principals. The College is divided into three sections : Primary, Secondary and Upper School. The Primary School is headed by a Headmaster or Headmistress as the case may be, while Middle School and Upper School are headed by Sectional Heads. The College educates over 2000 children in Primary and Secondary Education.

History

The school was founded by the Baptist Missionary Society of England as a part of celebrating a centenary of missionary work in Ceylon. Carey College is among the few Colombo based schools which has remained in its original location from the time of inception. In 1911 the present site was acquired with the help of the Arthinton Fund which was set up by Mr. Robert Arthinton of Leeds a proponent of the Baptist Missionary Society of England. The funds were also used to construct several buildings which included the Waldock Memorial Hall named in remembrance of the late Rev. F.D. Waldock Architect and Builder of the Cinnamon Gardens Baptist Church who was also its first pastor. Finally after three years of preparation the school was established as the BMS Boy's High School, with two boys and three masters in 1914. Rev. H.J. Charter was appointed as its first principal. In 1925 it was renamed Carey Baptist College in honour of the English educator and missionary William Carey who founded the first Christian Missionaries in the East.

The College Today

Today Carey College is Sri Lanka’s only Baptist school. It’s multi ethnic and multi religious student population reflects the vibrant diversity of the Sri Lankan population itself. Furthermore the school has ensured that equal opportunities are given to all students regardless of their caste or creed, hence it has given true meaning to the concept of a multi-cultural ‘institution of learning’ and thereby has been able to overcome racial and religious divisions and unite it’s students as one. The school’s achievements both in the field of education as well as sports can be attributed to its equal emphasis on both these fields, its high standard of discipline and also its solid Christian foundation, traits which have also enabled the school to garner the best out of its students.
Perhaps the most persistent problem the college has faced over the years has been the lack of space which has hindered it’s expansion. Nevertheless various building programs have been undertaken nearly every decade with the aim of improving the school's facilities. The most notable of these were the programs of the 1960s and 1970s, spearheaded by the school’s longest serving principal Rev. Dr. W.G. Wickramasinghe who oversaw the construction the college main hall (now known as the Wickramasinghe Hall) the imposing Jubilee building which consists of the facade facing Kynsey road, and it’s extended wings housing Administrative offices and Classrooms. Mr. E. W. Wijesinghe who took office in 1994 also showed a keen interest in upgrading the facilities, his tenure saw the construction of the College Gymnasium, several multi-storeyed classroom buildings and the Basketball court. In 2006 the College had a student body of approximately 2176 and a 123 member strong staff.

Houses

Carey College is among the first schools in Sri Lanka to have introduced a House system. It was Rev. Spooner the school's second principal who introduced the house system in 1924. The houses were named after leaders and benefactors of the Baptist Missionary Society.

Sports

The College provides a number of sports for its students. Out of these Rugby, Boxing and Cricket are three sports in which students have specially excelled.

• Athletics
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Cricket
• Gymnastics
• Karate
• Rugby
• Soccer
• Swimming
• Table Tennis
• Volleyball
• Wushu

Clubs and Societies

The College has many clubs and societies which students can join. All such clubs and societies are supervised by a master in charge and have their respective President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer elected from among the students

• Arts Society
• Buddhist Students Association
• Cadetting
• Chess Club
• Choir
• Leo Club
• Commerce Union
• Co-operative Society
• Cubbing
• English Literary Association
• Environmental society
• English Oratorical and Debating Society
• Hewisi Band
• Interact Club (Established : 1974)
• Junior Sinhala Literary Society
• Information Technology Club
• Media Unit
• Muslim Majlis
• NSB Students Saving Unit
• Oriental Music Society
• Oriental Dancing Society
• Photographic Society
• Quiz Club
• Safety Patrol Squad
• St. John's Ambulance Brigade
• Science Association
• Scouting (Established : 1918)
• Senior Sinhala Literary Association
• Sinhala Debating Society
• Sinhala Dramatic Society
• Social Work Unit
• Student Christian Movement
• Western Band

Prizes and Scholarships

The following Prizes and Scholarships are available for students

• Spooner Memorial Prize
• Rev. Mrs. S.P. Jayatunge Memorial Prize
• Sir Arthur Ranasinghe Prize
• D.W. Jayasinghe Memorial Gold Prize
• Rev. and Mrs F.A. Pieris Memorial Prize
• E.W. Wijesinghe Prize
• S.S.G. Samarakoon Memorial Prize
• Resta Wickramasinghe Memorial Prize
• Mrs. D. Nicholas Prize
• Mrs. E.B. Perera Prize
• Mr. and Mrs. M.D.A. Kuweju Prize
• Mohan Lal Vasa Scholarship
• Dunstan Fernando Special Prize
• J.V. Weerasinghe General Knowledge Prize
• Suriya Bandara Memorial Prize
• Rev. W.M.P. Jayatunge Memorial Prize
• D.W. Jayasinghe Memorial Scholarship
• M.P. Daniel memorial Scholarship
• F.A. Pieris Memorial Prize
• Mr. and Mrs. Geffory Prize Persiverence
• Ena Bibile Memorial prize for Courtesy
• Mr. and Mrs. T.N. Henderling Prize
• Watapuluwa Student Development Schorlaship
• Oswin Allenson Perera Memorial Prize
• Somasiri Hettiarachchi Prize
• Nizam Dane Memorial Trophy
• Mr. and Mrs. B.C. Perera Memorial Prize
• Henry Jayakody Special Prize
• Neil Algama Memorial Prize

Principals of Carey College

• Rev. H.J. Charter - B.A. B.D. (Lond) - 1914-1921
• Rev. H. Spooner - B.D. (Lond) - 1921-1938
• Rev. H. W. Spillet - B.A. B.D. (Lond) - 1938-1944
• Rev. W.M.P. Jayatunge - B.D. (Serampore) - 1945-1954 (First Ceylonese Principal)
• Rev. Dr. W.G. Wickremasinghe - M.A.(Oxon) B.D.,Dip Ed.(Cey) - 1955-1976 (First Old Boy Principal)
• Mr. J.V. Weerasinghe - B.A. (Cey) Dip Ed. (Cey) - 1976-1981
• Mr. D.W.W. Jayawardena - B.A. (Cey) Dip Ed. (Cey) - 1981-1985
• Mr. Kenneth de Lanerolle - M.A. (AJE) Dip Ed. (FRGS) - 1985-1986
• Mr. Dunstan S. Fernando - B.A. (Cey) Post Grad Ed. (Birmingham) - 1986-1989
• Mr. D.B. Welikala - B.A. (Cey) - 1990-1992
• Mr. E.W. Wijesinghe - SLEAS II. Dip Sch Mgt. - 1994-2009
• Dr. Heshan Wikramasuriya - B.Sc. M.Ed. Ph.d. - 2009-2011
• Mrs. Hemamali Bibile - B.Sc. Dip Eng (Lond) - 2011-To Date

Vice Principals of Carey College

• Mr. D.W. Jayasinghe - 1945-1951
• Mr. J. Davis - 1952 -1953
• Mr. F.S.D.L. Kumaratne - 1954-1964
• Mr. D.W. Jayasinghe - 1955-1959
• Mr. K.C. Cheriyan - 1959-1960
• Mr. J.V. Weerasinghe - 1961-1976
• Mr. P.F.O. De Silva - 1976-1979
• Mr. Howard Fernando - 1979-1980
• Rev. R.L. Wijesinghe - 1980-1981
• Mr. M.J.V. Fernando - 1982-1984
• Mr. L.R.P. Wickramarachchi - 1984-1985
• Mr. S.P. Gunasekera - 1985-1986
• Mr. M.D.A. Kuweju - 1986-2009
• Rev. Heshan De Silva - 2009-To Date

Notable alumni

• Douglas Meerwald - Sri Lankan Musician
• Colonel Nizam Dane - Commanding Officer of the 10th Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment (Senior most Officer to die in Operation Jayasikuru)
• Jeewan Kumaratunga - Sri Lankan Actor / Member of Parliament and Minister
• Gamini Neththikumara - Founder of the Senkada - Salaka Group and Former President of Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra
  Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra
  Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra was a Sri Lankan politician a former member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and Adviser to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.- Political career :...
  
  - Former Sri Lankan Member of Parliament and Adviser to the President of Sri Lanka
• Y. C. Chang - President of Sri Lanka Rugby and Football Union (SLRFU) - 1985-1988
• Shelton A. Gunaratne - Professor of Mass Communications emeritus, Minnesota State University, USA
• Nimal Siripala De Silva - Sri Lankan Member of Parliament and Minister (had his secondary education at Carey College)
• Adam Mohamed Adamaly - Sri Lankan Dramatist and Actor
• Nisthar Cassim - Journalist ( Editor Daily Financial Times / Former Editor-in-Chief of Daily Mirror )
• Rev. Dr. W. G. Wickramasinghe - President of the Youth Department of the Baptist World Alliance - 1960-1965
• Mohamed Shafeek Rajabdeen - Sri Lankan Member of Parliament
• Reyaz Mihular - Partner at KPMG Ford Rhodes Thornton & Co - Sri Lanka
• Isfahani Sameen - Former World President of Junior Chamber International - 1989 (44th President) and Recipient The Order of the Rising Sun (presented by the Government of Japan)