Negombo Peterites’ walk: “Walk together and Work together”
View(s):The Past Pupils Association of St Peter’s College, Negombo will hold a walk titled “Walk together and Work together” on Saturday, February 1 to mark the 110th anniversary of the college. The walk will start from the school premises at 1.30 p.m. and end at the Kadolkelle ground in Negombo around 4.30 p.m. covering a distance of about 4.5 km. The walk will be followed by a musical show by Marians and Daddy with Bathiya and Santhush and a parachute jump exhibition by the Sri Lanka Commando Regiment.
St. Peter’s College, Negombo was established on July 2, 1903 under the guidance of a pioneering French priest, Rev. Father Esric in order to cater to the educational needs of the children of fisherfolk in the area. The school was tasked with imparting formal education to Sinhalese speaking children while St Sebastian’s school at Sea Street and St Mary’s College Negombo respectively catered to the educational needs of Tamil and English speaking children.
Mr. H.M. Faris was the first principal of St Peter’s College and at that time, the school was known as the Banana stall school (Kehelkan Kade iskole). The initial student enrolment was 33 and the number of members on the staff was only three- Messrs Simon, Wilbert and Anthony who worked dedicatedly for the school.
1967 was another landmark for St Peter’s College when the then Minister of Education I.M.R.A Iriyagolla declared it a Maha Vidyalaya. Rev. Father Stanley Mellwa, the principal rendered a commendable service to the school ensuring a good educational environment and discipline.
Succeeding years saw many a great change in the school during the tenures of Messrs P.A.D. Aquinas, P.A.P Nonis, Jayanath Mendis, D.C.E. Madurasinghe and M.C.O. Fernando.
When John. A. Fernando assumed office as the principal, he ushered in a new era. He is also said to have explored many avenues for sustainable development in education in the school. After him, B.J.P. Perera assumed the office of principal.
Yet another golden era dawned for St Peter’s College when Mr. H.M.S. Bandara was appointed as principal of the school. He was also able to expedite the development of the school. After the retirement of Mr. H.M.S. Bandara, Mr. K.D.S.T. Silva was appointed as the principal. Having rendered a dedicated service to St Peter’s College, he bid adieu on April 6, 2013 and since then the present principal, Mr. K.D.W.D.R. Fernando has been spearheading the progress of the school.
The old boys have joined hands to strengthen this walk by extending their unstinting cooperation and assistance.