, motto_translation = Not for self, but for all , streetaddress = 15 Boyd Place , city =

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, postcode = , country = Sri Lanka , coordinates = , schooltype = Private Day and Boarding , type = Private , affiliation = , founded = , founder = James Chapman , district =

, chairperson = Dushantha Lakshman Rodrigo , principal = Chemali G. Herath , grades = 1 - 14
Nursery , gender = Female (with males in the Nursery) , enrollment = 1,900 , medium = , campus_type =

Urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

, houses = , colours = Purple and gold
, song = "Oba Kithu Gosa Pethirewa" , denomination = Anglican , religious_affiliation =

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, athletics = Yes , sports = , free_5 = "We build our School on thee, O Lord" , free_label5 = School hymn , website = Bishop's College in

, Sri Lanka, is a private girls' school founded by the Anglican

Church of Ceylon The Church of Ceylon ( si, ලංකා සභාව) is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extra-provincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointme ...

in February 1875.

Description

Bishop's College is a private fee-levying Anglican girls' school in Sri Lanka with about 1900 students at all grades from kindergarten to Grade 14. It is located at 15 Boyd Place, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka. The current principal is Chemali G. Herath.

History

Origins, 1857-1875

Bishop's College started in 1857 as one of the earliest mission schools of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

in Ceylon, and it was first known as Bishopsgate School. The

Bishop of Colombo Bishop of Colombo may refer to: * Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican ...

, the Rt. Rev. James Chapman (1845–1862), and his wife Frances were instrumental in setting up the school. Frances Chapman had set her heart on setting up a school for Christian girls with funds collected while on furlough in England. In 1857 she established a school in their own residence in

Mutwal Modara ( si, මෝදර, translit=Mōdara; ta, முகத்துவாரம், translit=Mukattuvāram), also known as Mutwal ''(anglicised version)'', is a municipal ward of Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ ...

called Bishopsgate, with the 20 pupils she desired. The principal was a Mrs Long, who had served earlier at the Church Missionary School in Nallur,

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...

. However, in May 1859, Frances Chapman returned to England due to ill health, Mrs Long died in 1861 and the school had to be temporarily closed. No reference to its reopening is available in the Diocesan Archives.

Reopening, 1875-1887

Georgiana Emily Drew with 3 children in Colombo 1882

Bishop's College dates its beginning to 1875, when the school with 13 pupils was established at Fairfield House in Darley Road, under the same name - Bishopsgate School. Fairfield House is the present site of Link Holdings Ltd. Even today the word "Bishopsgate" stands engraved at the entrance to the building. The first principal to come out was Georgiana Down, who married Harry Drew, the son of Joseph Drew and music director at the nearby S. Thomas' College. Among the first girls enrolled were Minnie Von Possner, Hilda Obeysekera, Dorah Aserappah and Caroline Peiris. The first boys to enter the kindergarten were James and Donald Obeysekera and Leslie de Saram. Monthly expenses in running the school were about Rs. 300/- which included rent, salaries, and the hire of a piano. The income in fees in the first month totalled Rs. 302/50! In 1882 the school had twenty-one pupils, four of them in the school boarding. But the income was not sufficient to make ends meet. Even with the sale of the furniture, the debts could not be settled. Mrs. Drew resigned in April 1882, and with her departure the school had to be closed again. Mrs. Drew returned to England with her husband and four children.

Sisters of St. Margaret, 1887-1955

In 1887, three sisters from St Margaret's Convent in East Grinstead, England, came to Ceylon on missionary work. Their

Society of Saint Margaret The Society of Saint Margaret (SSM) is an order of women in the Anglican Church. The Order is active in England, Haiti, Sri Lanka, and the United States and formerly Scotland. History The Sisters of St Margaret were founded in 1855 by Dr John ...

was a sorority founded by

John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar and hymnwriter. He worked and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most ...

in 1855, which had now expanded to overseas mission. After a short location at Green Path, they established their convent in Polwatte,

Kollupitiya Kollupitiya, also known as Colpetty is a major neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The name Kollupitiya comes from the name of a chief from Kandy who had unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone the last king of Kandy. During the period of British ...

. One of them, Sister Joanna Mary, was asked to help in the running of the school. Principals and teachers who came to Ceylon to fulfil the goals of Christian mission often had to leave due to ill health, the rigours of the tropical climate or personal reasons. The answer seemed to be with the Sisters of St Margaret, and Sister Angela was the first sister to be principal of Bishopsgate School. The school was to be an institution to promote educational advancement, and also a finishing school for the daughters of Christian families. Subjects taught directed them to the Cambridge local examinations: French, drawing, singing, and piano playing were also on the curriculum. In 1890, the then Bishop of Colombo,

Reginald Copleston Reginald Stephen Copleston (26 December 1845 – 19 April 1925) was an Anglican priest and author who served as a bishop in India for more than 30 years. Biography Copleston was born in Barnes, London, the son of Rev. R. E. Copleston, Fellow of ...

, purchased the Maradatin Cinnamon Gardens bordering on Boyd Place, Colpetty. The school moved from Darley Road to these premises in 1892 and was renamed Bishop's College. Although the Sisters of St Margaret had by now for some years been associated with the running of the school, it was now with this shift that the school was passed into their care. Proximity to St Margaret's Convent at Polwatte was of great significance. For an unbroken period of sixty years from 1895 to 1955 these sisters guided the students of Bishop's College: not only in their mental development, but in the levels of charity, community spirit and public service, and upholding of the school motto "''Non Sibi Sed Omnibus''" (Not for Self, but for All). There were twelve sisters who were principals or acting principals of the school in this period of 60 years. They were, in the order of their principalship: Sister Bridget Margaret, Sister Bertha Mary, Sister Letitia, Sister Eva, Sister Mary Kathleen (acting), Sister Marguerite, Sister Ada Mary (acting), Sister Geraldine Mary, Sister Mary Kathleen, Sister Mabel, Sister Celestine and Sister Gabriel. A close bond was established between Bishop's College and St Margaret's Convent, Polwatte, which remains up to now. The sisters are revered guests at all school functions; Bishop's College participates in all their special occasions and upholds the motto they gave the school by helping to the convent in fund-raising at their annual fair and in many other ways. The number of students when the school moved to Boyd Place, was 70. As early as 1896 an association of past pupils, known then as the Bishop's College Association, was set up. As Bishop's College entered the 20th century the school chapel was dedicated to St Agnes, the Roman virgin and martyr of the 4th century. The school faced Boyd Place on the south, a property known as Arncliffe on the east, a building known as Edgecote on the west, and a government reservation adjoining the

Beira Lake Beira Lake (/bˈɐjɾɐ/; Sinhalese: බේරේ වැව, translit. ''Bērē væva''; Tami: பேரே ஏரி, translit. ''Pērē ēri'') is a lake in the centre of the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The lake is surrounded by many large ...

on the north. The property on which the school was located was held in trust by the bishop of the

Diocese of Colombo Diocese of Colombo may refer to: * Diocese of Colombo (Anglican) * Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo ( la, Archidioecesis Columbensis in Taprobane) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese of t ...

with a board of three members. As the numbers on the school increased, additional staff had to be recruited and accommodation organised. The adjoining building, Edgecote, was rented out to house the kindergarten. Buildings within the premises were expanded. In due course the school built its own Kindergarten block and Edgecote was given up in 1929. Elscourt, a magnificent building on Turret Road, opposite the Victoria Park, at one time the site of the Orient Club, was gifted to the school by a loyal past pupil, Maude Peiris, mother of

Harold Peiris Harold Peiris (1904–1988) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, author, scholar, teacher, patron of the arts, and philanthropist. He was the co-founder of the Lionel Wendt Art Centre and its sole life-trustee.Mansions of Kolluptiya, Colombo in the early twentieth century
Retrieved 10 December 2014 After much deliberation, and with the donor's approval, it was decided not to open a unit of the school at Elscourt as it was considered too far from the building at Boyd Place. Elscourt was sold and with funds realised. Arncliffe, the building adjoining the school with two road frontages - Boyd Place and General's Lake Road - was purchased. It was renamed Peiris House as a tribute to the generosity of Maude Peiris. With World War II entering the Asian zone, Bishop's College evacuated to "Fernhill" in Bahirawakanda,

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, with 37 students. Since the building could not house all the classrooms, Kandy Girls' High School generously shared their building. Those students who were left behind in Colombo were joined by those of Ladies College who had also not evacuated to form "Lake School" in the Bishop's College premises. Some of the buildings were taken over by the military, so the space was limited. In 1943, the danger from the war removed, the two branches of Bishop's College were reunited at Boyd Place. The number on the roll at the re-establishment was 100. With the end of the war, the country was moving towards independence, and Bishop's College had in 1943 introduced Sinhala and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

as the media of instruction in the kindergarten, while they were being taught as a subject. Although the school had been established as a Christian missionary school, the Sisters of St Margaret had, as early as 1909, adopted a pluralist approach to religion. Of the 114 students at that time, 22 were non-Christian. In 1938 a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

student was appointed head prefect.

Moving into the future: 1955-2000

In 1955 the sisters, due to non-availability of personnel, gave up guiding the school. The school thereafter had its policy determined by a board of governors with the Bishop of Colombo as chairman. L. Y. Pode was appointed principal. In 1959 Bishop's College had the first Ceylonese principal, A. C. B. (Amabel) Jayasuriya, and with her came a new identity to the school. With a focus on national culture, she introduced the practice that the students of other faiths should commence their day with their own religious observance, as the Christians did, and have their own societies and celebrate their own festivals. She had a school song composed in Sinhala and set to oriental music. A Hewisi Band was trained to complement the Western Band. The activities of societies were in Sinhala, and in Tamil as the Tamil stream came up the school were on par with the English which had been a long-established tradition. In 1959

Geoffrey Bawa Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, FRIBA (23 July 1919 – 27 May 2003) was a Sri Lankan architect. He was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. Early life Geoffrey Bawa was born in Colombo on 23 July 1919, the young ...

and

Ulrik Plesner Ulrik Adolph Plesner, usually known as Ulrik Plesner (17 May 1861 in Vedersø – 22 November 1933 in Skagen) was an innovative Danish architect who designed in a National Romantic style at the beginning of the 20th century. He is remembered in p ...

were engaged to design a new three-storey classroom block for the school. The classrooms are located on the first and second floors with an open ground level, which is used as a covered activity and play area. The design is influenced by Scandinavian

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

with its "white cubic architecture" "sharped edged prismatic forms and brise soleil facades". The interior of the classroom block is protected by perforated external wall panels which are supported on a concrete portal frame and inserted between the exposed beam-ends to give an impression of extreme lightness and delicacy. A heavy horizontal eaves beam is hung out to protect the facade and to mask the pitched roof, thus accentuating the horizontality and modernist credentials of the design. When the building was nearing completion Bawa commissioned Lydia Duchini, an Italian sculptress, to create a sculpture of the bishop. The life sized gold leaf encrusted statue stands at the foot of the main staircase. The school opted to be a free-levying private school and had to find its own financial resources. The school passed on after 19 years to the principalship of Gwen Dias Abeysinghe, a past pupil. She added to the standards inherited, and Bishop's College came to produce theatrical performances; including ''

The Gondoliers ''The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria'' is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the ...

'' with a combined cast of girls from Bishop's and boys from the brother school at S. Thomas' College. The Past Pupils' Association, which has grown in strength, has always been supportive and assisted with money raising for buildings. Since the school hall, impressive in its day, was totally inadequate for present needs, the PPA was anxious to gift an auditorium to their '' Alma Mater'', and with land leased out from the Government, laid the foundation in 1985. With the rising costs in construction, the project was spread out longer than envisaged but was commissioned for use in 1994. The school, the PPA and Parent-Teacher Association all contributed to make this a reality. This last decade has seen the school steered by Lindley Jayasuriya, earlier vice-principal. Hemamali Bibile was the principal from 2003-2011. Sharmila Gunatilleke is the current principal.

Houses

The house system is an integral part of Bishop's College. Every student and staff member is placed into one of the four houses. Students who aren't first generation Bishopians get placed into the same house as their kindred. Each house elects a Captain, Vice Captain and Games Captain at the start of the year both in primary and secondary school. The four houses compete throughout the year in various sports and arts categories, with the main competitive event being the Annual Inter-House Athletics Meet (also known as, The Annual Sports Meet), which is held in February. House points are marked throughout the year based on discipline which are then added/deducted during the Athletics Meet. The four houses are: Henley house was placed first for the 24th consecutive year by the end of the 2019 sports meet.

Notable alumni

Notes

References

*''Bishop's College, 1975-2000, History'', with an introduction by Rt. Rev. Kenneth Fernando, Bishop of Colombo, editorial committee of Bishop's College (2000) *''Bishop's College, Hand Book'' (2002). *''History of the Diocese of Colombo'' (1945)

External links

*{{official website, http://www.bishopscollege.lk/ 1875 establishments in Ceylon Educational institutions established in 1875 Geoffrey Bawa buildings Girls' schools in Sri Lanka Private schools in Sri Lanka Schools in Colombo