Formerly known as Greenlands College, Isipathana College is a leading public school located in Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

, 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...

.

History

In January 1952,with an intake of 400 boys who constituted the overflow from the Royal College

Royal College Colombo

The Royal College of Colombo was founded in January 1835 in Colombo. It is considered to be the leading Public School in Sri Lanka...

 Primary, Greenlands College was born in a coconut grove amidst the lush greenery of Havelock Town

Havelock Town

Havelock Town is a neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Havelock Town is part of an area zoned as Colombo 5. Havelock Town is located approximately 6 kilometres south of Fort, the central business district of Colombo. Havelock City, a mixed-used development in Havelock Town is to be the largest...

 on Greenlands Road, about 7 acres (28,328 m²) in extent.

The first Principal was Mr. B.A. Kuruppu (1952 -1959) who was then the vice principal of Green Street Central College, Kotahena.

The initial admissions were made by a Board composed of Principals of Royal

Royal College Colombo

The Royal College of Colombo was founded in January 1835 in Colombo. It is considered to be the leading Public School in Sri Lanka...

 and Thurstan College

Thurstan College

Thurstan College is a public school in Colombo. It is a National School, i.e. it is controlled by the Central government as opposed to the Provincial Council and provides both primary and secondary education.-Overview:...

s and the Head Master of Royal Primary classes organized in all three streams - Sinhala, Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, with a tutorial staff of seven teachers.

The college crest was designed by the first Principal with the assistance of Mr. J.D.A. Perera and Mr. Stanley Abeysinghe of Heywood School of Art, with the lighted lamp and open book and motto "Strive with determination". The college colours dark and light green were selected from the name of the college (Greenland College).

The first sportsmeet was held in March 1953 and the first prize giving in 1954.

The first issue of the college magazine came out in 1954. In 1956 "Vihara Mandiraya and Chaitya" was built to commemorate "Buddha Jayanthi year" at school premises. The college had adapted itself to the socio-cultural changes which were taking place since Buddha Jayanthi in 1956 which led to the renaming of the college in 1961. Greenlands Road had been renamed as "Isipathana Mawatha" after "Isipathanaramaya" temple and the school was renamed as "Isipathana Maha Vidyalaya". Within a decade "Greenlands" became "Isipathana".

In 1962 the college was divided into two schools as Kanishta (Junior) and Jeshta (Upper) Vidyalayas with two Principals. In 1975 the Education Department amalgamated Kanishta Vidyalaya with the Maha Vidyalaya.

College Anthem

http://isipathana.lk/about/anthem

Houses

The students are divided into four Houses

House system

The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...

:

• Rahula colour : Yellow
• Tagor colour : Red
• Milton colour : Blue
• Iqbal colour : Green

The names are derived from four poets - Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thero, Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...

, John Milton

John Milton

John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...

 and Sir Muhammad Iqbal

Muhammad Iqbal

Sir Muhammad Iqbal , commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal , was a poet and philosopher born in Sialkot, then in the Punjab Province of British India, now in Pakistan...

. The houses compete to win the inter-house games.

Sports

• Athletics
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Badminton
• Swimming
• Karate
• Water polo
• Table Tennis
• Volley Ball
• Hockey
• Chess
• Cricket
• Rugby