S. Thomas' Preparatory School (abbreviated as STPS) is a private, Anglican, multi-ethnic, primary and secondary day school for boys aged 5 to 16 years, located in Kollupitiya in the Colombo District of the Western Province of Sri Lanka.
The school was founded on 17 May 1938 as a branch preparatory school of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia. It is governed by the Board of Governors of S. Thomas' College of the Church of Ceylon. The school is amongst the elite schools of Sri Lanka and is affiliated with the three other Thomian schools and colleges administered by the Church of Ceylon.[1]
S. Thomas' Preparatory School was founded on 17 May 1938 by William Thomas Keble, the school's first headmaster,[2] while Sri Lanka was under British colonial rule. Keble was a British scholar, author, educationalist, and an alumnus of Keble College, Oxford, which was named after his maternal great-uncle John Keble. He arrived in Ceylon in 1928 to join the staff of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, during the tenure of warden Kenneth McPherson.[3][4]
He was the author of several books, including Ceylon, Beaten Track, A History of St. Thomas' College, Colombo, and Astrapani: A Romance of Sigiriya, a novel based on Sigiriya. The school was the first preparatory school to be established in Sri Lanka based on the English public school model.[citation needed]
The institution, which commenced with a student population of 95 boys and a staff of seven teachers, currently has a student population of 975 and over 100 staff members. At first, the school only accepted students between the ages of 5 and 11 years, as its founders sought to remedy a conceptual void in the educational system by placing a new emphasis on the requirements and aspirations of younger children to be educated and to be allowed to express their creative talents and faculties unfettered and unhampered by older and more mature students. Nevertheless, over the years the school began accepting older students, and currently has classes up to grade 11 in preparation for the GCE Ordinary Level examination.[5]
School administration
The school is governed by the AnglicanChurch of Ceylon. It is classified as a private fee levying school and is not financially dependent on the government. It is administered by a Board of Governors (established by the S. Thomas' College Board of Governors Ordinance No. 7 of 1930) of which the chairman is the Anglican Bishop of Colombo, thereby retaining a connection between the church and the school. The day-to-day activities are managed by the headmaster. The school has a sectional head for the upper, middle, and primary schools.
Rev. Nihal Fernando was inducted as the school's sixth headmaster in February 2021.[8]
Demographics
The student population is in excess of 900 students, aged 5 to 16 years, although the roll has declined from its peak of around 1,100 students in the year 2000. The students come from diverse ethnic backgrounds (Sinhala, Tamil and Moor amongst others). The four main faiths practiced by the students of the school, in descending order of frequency, are Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. The majority of students live in the suburbs of Colombo.
Facilities
Flags of S. Thomas' Preparatory School, Kollupitiya displayed at the 2017 School Walk
The school campus consists of an assembly hall, over 50 classrooms, a chapel, a computer laboratory, two music rooms, three art rooms, two playing fields, two basketball courts and a cafeteria. The school has separate laboratory facilities for science.
House system
Students of the school are allocated into are allocated into one of four houses:[9]
Houses
House Name
House Motto
House Colour
Other Information
Carpenter-Garnier
Excelsior
The house is named after the sixth Bishop of Colombo, Rev. Mark Carpenter-Garnier, who was Lord Bishop of Colombo in 1938 when the school was founded.
Abeynaike
One Team, One Dream
The house is named after the School's first headmaster, Norman Gray Abeynaike.
The house is named after the school's founder, William Thomas Keble.
The houses compete against each other in many sporting events throughout the year. An athletics championship, traditionally held each year in February, facilitates students in each of the four houses to compete in athletic events.
Headmasters
Headmasters of S. Thomas' Preparatory School, Kollupitiya[5]
thomas, preparatory, school, abbreviated, stps, private, anglican, multi, ethnic, primary, secondary, school, boys, aged, years, located, kollupitiya, colombo, district, western, province, lanka, main, gate, schooladdress98, steuart, place, kollupitiyacolombo,. S Thomas Preparatory School abbreviated as STPS is a private Anglican multi ethnic primary and secondary day school for boys aged 5 to 16 years located in Kollupitiya in the Colombo District of the Western Province of Sri Lanka S Thomas Preparatory SchoolMain Gate of the SchoolAddress98 Steuart Place KollupitiyaColombo Western 00300Sri LankaCoordinates6 55 0 6 N 79 50 50 4 E 6 916833 N 79 847333 E 6 916833 79 847333InformationTypePrivateMottoThe Lord is my ShepherdReligious affiliation s ChristianityDenominationAnglicanPatron saint s St ThomasEstablished17 May 1938 84 years ago 1938 05 17 FounderWilliam Thomas KebleHeadmasterNihal FernandoGrades1 11GenderMaleAge range6 16Enrollment900LanguageSinhala Tamil EnglishHours in school day07 45 13 45Campus typeUrbanColour s Dark blue light blue and white Song Cheer Cheer Prep School Boys NewspaperPrep NewsAffiliationChurch of Ceylon S Thomas College Mount LaviniaAlumni nameOld PrepitesBrother SchoolsS Thomas College Mount LaviniaS Thomas College GurutalawaS Thomas College BandarawelaWebsitewww wbr stps wbr edu wbr lkThe school was founded on 17 May 1938 as a branch preparatory school of S Thomas College Mount Lavinia It is governed by the Board of Governors of S Thomas College of the Church of Ceylon The school is amongst the elite schools of Sri Lanka and is affiliated with the three other Thomian schools and colleges administered by the Church of Ceylon 1 Contents 1 History 2 School administration 3 Demographics 4 Facilities 5 House system 6 Headmasters 7 Alumni 8 See also 9 ReferencesHistory EditS Thomas Preparatory School was founded on 17 May 1938 by William Thomas Keble the school s first headmaster 2 while Sri Lanka was under British colonial rule Keble was a British scholar author educationalist and an alumnus of Keble College Oxford which was named after his maternal great uncle John Keble He arrived in Ceylon in 1928 to join the staff of S Thomas College Mount Lavinia during the tenure of warden Kenneth McPherson 3 4 He was the author of several books including Ceylon Beaten Track A History of St Thomas College Colombo and Astrapani A Romance of Sigiriya a novel based on Sigiriya The school was the first preparatory school to be established in Sri Lanka based on the English public school model citation needed The institution which commenced with a student population of 95 boys and a staff of seven teachers currently has a student population of 975 and over 100 staff members At first the school only accepted students between the ages of 5 and 11 years as its founders sought to remedy a conceptual void in the educational system by placing a new emphasis on the requirements and aspirations of younger children to be educated and to be allowed to express their creative talents and faculties unfettered and unhampered by older and more mature students Nevertheless over the years the school began accepting older students and currently has classes up to grade 11 in preparation for the GCE Ordinary Level examination 5 School administration EditThe school is governed by the Anglican Church of Ceylon It is classified as a private fee levying school and is not financially dependent on the government It is administered by a Board of Governors established by the S Thomas College Board of Governors Ordinance No 7 of 1930 of which the chairman is the Anglican Bishop of Colombo thereby retaining a connection between the church and the school The day to day activities are managed by the headmaster The school has a sectional head for the upper middle and primary schools Rev Dushantha Lakshman Rodrigo assumed duties as headmaster on 1 January 2015 6 and continued to serve until 2021 when he was appointed the 16th Anglican Bishop of Colombo 7 Rev Nihal Fernando was inducted as the school s sixth headmaster in February 2021 8 Demographics EditThe student population is in excess of 900 students aged 5 to 16 years although the roll has declined from its peak of around 1 100 students in the year 2000 The students come from diverse ethnic backgrounds Sinhala Tamil and Moor amongst others The four main faiths practiced by the students of the school in descending order of frequency are Christianity Buddhism Hinduism and Islam The majority of students live in the suburbs of Colombo Facilities Edit Flags of S Thomas Preparatory School Kollupitiya displayed at the 2017 School Walk The school campus consists of an assembly hall over 50 classrooms a chapel a computer laboratory two music rooms three art rooms two playing fields two basketball courts and a cafeteria The school has separate laboratory facilities for science House system EditStudents of the school are allocated into are allocated into one of four houses 9 Houses House Name House Motto House Colour Other InformationCarpenter Garnier Excelsior The house is named after the sixth Bishop of Colombo Rev Mark Carpenter Garnier who was Lord Bishop of Colombo in 1938 when the school was founded Abeynaike One Team One Dream The house is named after the School s first headmaster Norman Gray Abeynaike De Saram Veni Vidi Vici The house is named after Canon R S De Saram who was Warden of S Thomas College Mount Lavinia when the school was founded and the first manager of the school Keble Strive to Achieve The house is named after the school s founder William Thomas Keble The houses compete against each other in many sporting events throughout the year An athletics championship traditionally held each year in February facilitates students in each of the four houses to compete in athletic events Headmasters EditHeadmasters of S Thomas Preparatory School Kollupitiya 5 No Name From To Special Notes1 William Thomas Keble 1938 1942 Founder2 N G Abeynaike 1943 1950 First headmaster3 J T R Perinpanayagam June 1951 August 19664 J S L Fernando September 1966 1994 Longest serving headmaster5 N Y Casie Chetty 1995 20146 Dushantha Lakshman Rodrigo 2015 January 2021 16th Bishop of Colombo7 Nihal Fernando February 2021 Present Incumbent headmasterAlumni EditS Thomas Preparatory School has produced many noteworthy and distinguished figures Old students of the school are referred to as Past Prepites Amongst them are Wasim Thajudeen Sri Lankan Rugby union player Shehan Karunatilaka Author and Winner of the 2022 Booker Prize Ruwan Wijewardene Incumbent Senior advisor to the President on Climate change and Sajith Premadasa Current Leader of the Opposition of Sri Lanka See also EditCategory Alumni of S Thomas Preparatory School Kollupitiya List of schools in Sri LankaReferences Edit S Thomas Preparatory School Old Boys Union The School www prepobu lk Retrieved 2017 03 21 non primary source needed Past Headmasters stcb edu lk Retrieved 2018 12 16 non primary source needed S Thomas Preparatory School Old Boys Union The School www prepobu lk Retrieved 2017 03 21 non primary source needed Delmar Shalom St Thomas Preparatory School Kollupitiya www dioceseofcolombo lk Retrieved 2017 03 21 a b S Thomas Preparatory School non primary source needed Rev Dushantha Rodrigo appointed new Headmaster of S Thomas Prep Daily FT Wijeya Newspapers 22 January 2015 Retrieved 21 December 2017 Fr Dushantha Rodrigo to be appointed as next Bishop of Colombo newsfirst lk News First Retrieved 3 August 2021 New headmaster for S Thomas Preparatory School the Sunday Times 2021 02 07 Retrieved 2021 08 02 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link STPS History Book non primary source needed Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title S Thomas 27 Preparatory School amp oldid 1127159204, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
