Rahula College
Rahula College is a boys' school in Sri Lanka, located in Matara district. Though it was originally a private Buddhist school, now it is run by the Government of Sri Lanka as a National School. Rahula College has two sections - the Primary section, which serves students from Grade 1 to Grade 5, and the Secondary section, which serves students from Grade 6 to Grade 13.
History
In 1921, Frederick Gordon Pearce, D.T.W. Rajapaksha Ralahami and Sir R.S.S. Gunawardana established the "Buddhists Society". On 1 May 1923, the Buddhists Society opened a school named Parakramabhahu Vidyalaya, in a rented building on Main Street, Matara. Parakramabhahu Vidyalaya's motto was "May I be a true Buddhist". Hewabowalage Yasapala was the first student. Parakramabhahu Vidyalaya was shifted to the "Saram Mudali Walawwa" which was donated by C. A. Odiris de Silva, with the new name of "Rahula College". C.A. Odiris de Silva's second son C.A. Ariyathilake, who also donated Matara's leading girls' school Sujatha Vidyalaya, donated this school to the government.Rahula College currently has over 5,000 students.
Principals
| Period | Name | |
| 1st | 1923 - 1932 | G. William De Silva |
| 2nd | 1932 - 1936 | C. Amirthalingam |
| 3rd | 1936 - 1937 | J. R. Bhatt |
| 4th | 1937 - 1956 | D. J. Kumarage |
| 5th | 1956 - 1973 | B. P. Ariyawansa |
| 6th | 1973 - 1979 | B. Suriarachchi |
| 7th | 1979 - 1983 | A. H. Godavitharana |
| 8th | 1983 - 1986 | P. Wijewardana |
| 9th | 1986 - 1987 | Mahinda Jagoda |
| 10th | 1987 - 1989 | N. Weerathunga |
| 11th | 1989 - 1990 | A. M. Liyanage |
| 12th | 1990 - 1998 | N. Ariyawansha |
| 13th | 1998 - 2002 | Sarath Gunarathna |
| 14th | 2002 - 2010 | Kithsiri Liyanagamage |
| 15th | 2010 - 2016 | Nimal Dissanayake |
| 16th | 2016 - | Francis Welage |
Primary section
Rahula Primary is located in Welegoda. It was established in 1991, at the site of the former Sudarshana Model School. There are classes from grade 1 to grade 5.Sports
Sports at the college include athletics, basketball, boxing, chess, cricket, rugby, soccer, swimming, volleyball, table tennis, badminton and karate.The annual Rahula - Thomas football encounter or Battle of Golden Ensigns is an annual football match played between Rahula College and St. Thomas' College, Matara. It was one of the first annual inter school football matches in Sri Lanka.
In 2012 Rahula College and Dharmapala College commenced an annual match, the Battle of Golden Lions. The inaugural match was held on Uyanwatta Stadium, with Rahula College hosting the event.
Houses
There are four student houses in the college, named after historical figures in South Asia. They are:- Ashoka :
- Gemunu :
- Parakrama :
- Vijaya :
Notable alumni
| Name | Notability | Reference |
| MP - National List, Minister of Constitutional Reform | ||
| MP - Matara | ||
| Permanent Secretary to the President of Sri Lanka, former Chairman SriLankan Airlines | ||
| former District Judge, Secretary General of Parliament | ||
| Sri Lankan dramatist, Sinhala Radio Play writer | ||
| Sri Lankan entrepreneur | ||
| Sri Lanka international cricketer | ||
| Sri Lanka international cricketer | ||
| Chairman/CEO Strategic Enterprise Management Agency | ||
| Senator, President of the Senate of Ceylon | ||
| former government agent, literary figure, historian | ||
| Actor |