St Joseph's College, Bandarawela


St. Joseph's College is a national school located in Bandarawela, Uva, Sri Lanka. It is also known as Bandarawela St. Joseph's National School. Established in 1909, the school provides primary and secondary education to students in the Badulla District.
The campus occupies on a section of Badulla Road which is part of the A16 highway.

History

In 1909, St. Joseph's School was established by the De La Salle Brothers. Seventeen boys were admitted on the first day. The first principal was an Irishman named Patrick Purchell, known as Brother Simon Mathew. However, the land on which the school was situated was sold in 1914.
The land was repurchased in 1928 by the Marist Brothers. In this second stage, the first principal was known as the Reverend Brother Lewis. By the time of his departure in 1934, there were 250 students.
St. Joseph's remained a private school until 1961, when it became a government school. The first principal under the new system was Arthur Deegalle.
In 1974, the Primary section was added and girls were admitted, making it a mixed school. In 1981, the school was recognised as a National School by the Ministry of Education, and it was graded a 1 AB school in 1999.

Organization

The principal is the head of the administration of the college and is assisted by a Vice Principal.
The school is divided into three sections: the primary school, middle school and the upper school, each coming under a deputy principal.
The college educates close to 3000 students.

Activities

Houses

St. Joseph's College assigns its students to one of four houses to encourage cooperation and friendly competition:
Annually, the college organizes inter-house athletic games to improve
the athletic skills of the students as well as their team spirit.

Sports

Battle of the Golds Uva

St. Joseph's College has a standing rivalry with Bandarawela Central College and have engaged in an annual cricket match titled the "Battle of the Golds Uva" since 1996. This is a revival of an older tradition of competition between these two schools that had been dormant since 1972.

Principals

TitleNamePeriodImage
Rev.Father Simon Mathew 1909-1913
Rev.Brother Benjamin Lewis1928-1933
Rev.Brother Elarius1934-1938
Rev.Brother Onorius1939-1951
Rev.Brother James1952-1952
Rev.Brother Rudolph1959-1961
Mr.W. M. de Silva 1962-1963
Mr.A. Deegalla1963-1964
Mr.Pereliya K. Harschandra1964-1967
Mr.S. W. Fernando1967-1975
Mr.C. W. L. Mendis1975-1978
Ven.Kanumuldeniye Ganaratana thera1978-1994
Mr.H.M. Weerasekare 1994-1995
Mr.R. M. A. Rathnayake1995-1996
Mr.A. M. Jayasekare 1996
Mr.D. M. Gunaratna1996-2001
Mr.W. M. Karunasena2001-2005
Mr.Withanage Wijesinghe 2005-2006
Mr.K. H. P. Jayatissa2006-2011
Mr.Y. M. Amarasinghe
Mr.W.M. Bandula Wijesundara --