Dharmasoka College is a

coed school Coed School ( Korean: 남녀공학) was a South Korean pop group formed by record company Core Contents Media in 2010. The co-ed group consisted of four female members: Soomi, Hyoyoung, Hyewon, and Chanmi; and six male members: Taewoon, Sungmi ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The college was established in 1913. It was supported by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel

Henry Steel Olcott Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first well-known American of Euro ...

, and accordingly is one of

's oldest schools. It provides

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

Location and size

Dharmasoka College is situated in

Ambalangoda Ambalangoda is a coastal town located in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Governed by Ambalangoda Urban Council, the town is famous for its ancient demon masks and devil dancers. Situated approximately south of Colombo, it sits o ...

within the administrative district of

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

. It currently has over 5,500 students and approximately 250 members of the academic staff.

History

In 1913, the college was established with fifteen students by its founder, Mudliar Santiago Thomas de Silva, who spent his own wealth to establish and develop the college. On 10 April 1929, the Sugatha Sasanodaya Samithiya (a

benevolent society The Benevolent Society, founded by Edward Smith Hall in 1813, is Australia's first and oldest charity. The society is an independent, not-for-profit organization whose main goals include helping families, older Australians and people with disabili ...

) took over administration of the college. The government of Sri Lanka took control of the college in 1961. Some managers under Sugatha Sasanodaya Samithiya were P. de S. Kularatne, Dr. M. H Saddhasena and L. C. de Silva, all were former Members of Parliament. Approximately 150 students are selected to the local universities in each year. Dharmasoka College students are called ''Sokians''.

Notable alumni

Mahinda Deshapriya Waduge Warunasiri Mahinda Deshapriya ( si, මහින්ද දේශප්රිය) is a former Chairman of Election Commission of Sri Lanka. On 30 November 2019, he informed the speaker of parliament that he would resign from the post and t ...

, former chairman of the

Election Commission of Sri Lanka The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is the constitutional authority responsible for administering and overseeing all elections in Sri Lanka, including the Presidential, Parliamentary, Provincial and Local Authority elections. Sri Lanka has had ...

Sarath Fonseka Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka ( si, ගාර්දිහේවා සරත් චන්ද්‍රලාල් ෆොන්සේකා, ta, சரத் பொன்சேகா; born 18 December 1950), commonly know ...

(Field Marshal), Former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army(GENERAL), Former Chief of the Defence Staff, Presidential Candidate in 2010(lose), Member of Parliament for Colombo District, Cabinet Minister for Regional Development. *

Rohana Wijeweera Patabendi Don Jinadasa Nandasiri Wijeweera ( si, පටබැඳි දොන් ජිනදාස නන්දසිරි විජෙවීර; 14 July 1943 – 13 November 1989, better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Rohana Wijeweera, was a ...

, Presidential Candidate in 1982, Founder of the

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and anot ...

, Leader of the 1971 JVP Insurrection and 1987–89 JVP Insurrection *

Jayalath Weerakkody Air Chief Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody, RWP, VSV, USP is a Sri Lanka air officer who served as commander of the Air Force from 1999 to 2002. He served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan. Early life and education Educated at Dharmasho ...

, Former Air Force Commander and Former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan *

Upul Tharanga Warushavithana Upul Tharanga (born 2 February 1985), commonly known as Upul Tharanga ( si, උපුල් තරංග), is a former professional Sri Lankan cricketer, and a former limited over captain who played for all formats of the game. He ...

, Test/ODI Cricketer *

Dinesh Chandimal Lokuge Dinesh Chandimal ( si, ලොකුගේ දිනේෂ් චන්දිමාල්; born 18 November 1989) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who captained the Sri Lanka national cricket team. A handy and agile right-handed bat ...

, Test/ODI Cricketer *

Gunadasa Kapuge Ellamulla Kapuge Gunadasa ( Sinhala: ගුණදාස කපුගේ; 7 August 1945–3 April 2003) popularly known as Gunadasa Kapuge, was a Sri Lankan singer, musician, music director and playback singer. He was well known among Sri Lankans ...

, Veternent Musician *

C. P. de Silva Charles Percival de Silva (16 April 1912 – 9 October 1972) was a leading Sri Lankan politician and civil servant. He had served as the Minister of Finance, Minister of Lands, Land Development and Agriculture; and Minister of Power and Ir ...

, Former Civil Servant, Former Cabinet Minister *

Sunil Handunnetti Sunil Handunnetti (born October 19, 1970) is a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He contested the 2010 parliamentary elections under the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), which is led by former army chief Sarat ...

, Member of Parliament for Colombo District *

Buddhika Kurukularatne Daluwatte Hewa Buddhika Kurukularatne (19 June 1943 – 9 June 2021) (known as ''Buddhika Kurukularatne'') was a journalist, author, lawyer, and Sri Lankan politician.journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and former Member of Parliament for Galle District *

Shan Wijayalal De Silva Shan Wijayalal De Silva is a Sri Lankan politician. He is a Member of Parliament (MP) for Galle District since 2020. He belongs to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and part of the United People's Freedom Alliance The United People's Freedom Allia ...

, Chief Minister of Southern Province of Sri Lanka * L. H. Sumanadasa, Vice Chancellor of the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

and founder of the

University of Moratuwa (''Vidyaayev Sharvadhanam'') , motto_lang = Sanskrit , mottoeng = Wisdom is all Wealth , established = , type = Public , chancellor = K. K. Y. W. Perera , vice_chancellor = N. ...

Ajit de Silva Ginigalgodage Ramba Ajit de Silva (born 12 December 1952), or Ajit de Silva, is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer, who played four Test matches and six One Day Internationals for Sri Lanka, bowling accurate slow left arm spin. Inte ...

, Former Test cricketer *

Saman Jayantha Warushavithana Saman Jayantha (born 26 January 1974), known as Saman Jayantha, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played 17 One Day Internationals for Sri Lanka in 2004 before he was dropped by the Sri Lankan selectors. International career He ...

, Former National Cricketer * Admiral

Piyal De Silva Admiral Piyal De Silva, WWV & Bar, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP is a former senior Sri Lankan naval officer. He was the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy from 2019 to 2020. Education Educated at Dharmasoka College, in Ambalangoda he joined the navy ...

, Commander, Sri Lanka Navy. ...

References

{{reflist 1913 establishments in Ceylon Buddhist schools in Sri Lanka Educational institutions established in 1913 Buildings and structures in Ambalangoda Schools in Galle District