Rippon College is the oldest
girls' school
Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...
in
Southern Province,
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 school was established in 1817 by the Rev. John McKenny as the female branch or department of the 2nd Wesleyan English School in Ja koratuwa, Megalle, Galle in 1817.Methodist missionaries at
Richmond Hill, Galle.
Rippon & Southlands
/ref> At the beginning the school was the Galle Girls' School. in 1857, the school was moved to Richmond Hill along with Galle School and several branch schools and was called the Richmond Hill Girls' Boarding school. In 1876, the Rev George Baugh separated it from the boys' school and renamed it as the Whitfield Road School for Girls, and later it was again renamed in honour of the Rev. Joseph Rippon who founded the Richmond Hill circuit and served as the Superintendent Missionary of Galle in Ceylon
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 ...
during the period of 1850 to 1860.[Richmond College - the oldest school established by the Methodist Mission in Sri Lanka]
/ref> The school presently provides primary and secondary education to girls aged 6 to 19 and has a student population of around 2,550.
History and origins
The first school for girls in Southern Province was established in 1817 by the Methodist Missionary Rev. John McKenny at Magalle on 1 December 1817 as the female branch or department of the second Wesleyan English School in Ja Koratuwa, Circular Road, Magalle, Galle. It was simply the female school of ''The Galle School'' (which was later upgraded as a high school and was renamed as Richmond College) in the beginning. The school was moved to Seymour's Hill in 1858 when The Galle School and several branch schools were relocated (by then known as Richmond Hill). The School was then called the Richmond Hill Girls' Boarding School in 1861, and in 1871 the school was separated from The Richmond Hill Boys' School (which was known as The Galle School since its inception in 1814). It was then renamed by the Rev. George Baugh as the Whitfield Road School for Girls, but later it was renamed in honour of the Rev. Joseph Rippon who purchased the Richmond Hill and served in Galle as the Superintending Missionary from 1850 to 1860.[ After the Richmond College was upgraded as a High School, Rippon too was upgraded in 1876. Until Miss Eastwood came as the Principal in end May 1876, the Rev Samuel Langdon of Richmond and Mrs. Langdon looked after the school.
]
Past Principals
*1871-
*1876 - Ms. Ellen Eastwood
*1878 - Ms.Tebb
*1882 - Ms. Wilkin
*1889 - Ms.Trigs
*1893 - Ms. Hartley
*1896 - Ms. Oliver
*1897 - Ms. Prince
*1905 - Ms. Tebb
*1907 - Ms. Ward
*1910 - Ms. Wightman
*1914 - Ms. Allen
*1914 - Ms. Bamford
*1938 - Ms. Williams
*1943 - P. C. R. Perera
*1949 - Lesly
*1954 - M. A. Perera
*1958 - W. Stembo
*1966 - D. W. Windsor Godawatta
*1972 - G. Daniel
*1976 - N. D. B. Senevirathne
*1987 - V. G. U. J. Gunasekara
*1999 - W. S. Ranasinghe
*2003 - K. D. S. Mangalika
*2003 - P. N. Rajapaksha
*2010 - K. N. Ashoka
*2011 - P. N. Rajapaksha
*2014 - Devika Sirisooriya
*2014 - M. S. R. Iranganie
*2023 - D. L. Ginige
Houses
The school houses are named after four past principals of the school.
*Prince -
*Ward -
*Tebb-
*Wightman -
Alumni
* Nelka Shiromala
See also
* List of the oldest schools in Sri Lanka
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of the oldest schools in Sri Lanka that are still functioning.
See also
* List of the oldest schools in the world
* List of schools in Sri Lanka
Footnotes
Notes
References
*
{{British Ceyl ...
References
External links
Official Website of Rippon Girls' College
{{Education in Sri Lanka
Educational institutions established in 1871
Former Methodist schools in Sri Lanka
Girls' schools in Sri Lanka
National schools in Sri Lanka
Schools in Galle
1871 establishments in Ceylon