St. Servatius College celebrates 125 years of service

In 1896, the children in the southern border of Sri Lanka along the Galle-Matara coastline received a gift from Belgian missionaries. This was an English medium school erected on a small plot of land on the banks of the Nilwala River in Pallimulla, Matara. 125 years later, this school, St. Servatius College, Galle, continues to educate and inspire the younger generations. 

The College was founded when the then Bishop of Galle, Dr. Joseph Van Reeth from Belgium wanted to create an educational infrastructure in the newly established diocese. For this purpose, he called on Belgian jesuits for help. The school opened with the just five students back in 1896 and two years later, this number had increased to 54. In 1898 a new structure was erected for the school. The funds for the construction were allocated by the St. Servatius Jesuit school of Liège, Belgium and the Matara school adopted the name of this patron saint – Servatius of Tonegeren, a 4th Century Belgian missionary. 

In 1907 the school was moved to its present location in Kotuwegoda, Matara and remained under the administration of Roman Catholic fathers until 1965 even though the school was adopted by the Ministry of Education in 1961. Much of its developments and progress has been credited to the Fr. Joe Rajapakse era highlighting his enthusiasm to include extra-curricular activities in the curriculum. Some of the earliest memories account for his interactions with students engaged in sports. Senior old boys recall seeing him giving advice to students playing cricket as well as rugby and spending his evenings until late in the night on the grounds. His vision was to ensure that all students who enrolled at the school developed a set of holistic skills in addition to completing their academics. 

Over the years, the school has improved on its facilities and services to provide a holistic experience to students as envisioned by its pioneers. With government support and support from its old boys, the SS Estovir Trust, donors, well-wishers and parents much work has been done to sustain the services of its academic and non-academic staff and students. These include everything from sponsoring sports tournaments to renovating certain parts of the school that need facelifts to donating computers and equipment to meet the demands to the payment of coaches allowance and the list goes on. It is evident that past students, staff, parents and well-wishers are working in unity to keep the school flag flying high. The school administration is determined to continue its legacy and inspire many generations to come.