| D. S. Senanayake College | |
| Native Name: | |
| Motto Translation: | Country Before Self |
| Province: | Western Province |
| Postcode: | 00700 |
| Former Names: | --> |
| Type: | National school 1AB |
| District: | Colombo |
| Educational Authority: | or |
| Local Authority: | --> |
| Oversight Label: | to override the default label --> |
| Principal: | Sampath Weragoda |
| Teaching Staff: | 284 |
| Grades: | 1-13 |
| Age Range: | 6 -19 |
| Enrolment: | 6000 - 8000 |
| Hours In Day: | 07:30 - 13:30 |
| Song: | "Sip Satha Sis Wetha" |
| Accreditations: | --> |
| Newspaper: | Siyapatha |
| Affiliations: | --> |
D. S. Senanayake College (; ; also referred to as DS and DSSC) is a boys' primary and secondary national school in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It was established on 10 February 1967 with R. I. T. Alles as the founding principal,[1] [2] and was named after the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, D. S. Senanayake.
It provides education from Grades 1 to 13 in Sinhalese, Tamil and English languages. It is the second-largest multi-ethnic school in the country. Its street name was formerly known as Gregory Road but was renamed to R. G. Senanayake Mawatha in 2013.[3]
In 1965, the number of requests to admit children into the Royal College Primary had become excessive. Thus the Minister of Education I. M. R. A. Iriyagolla took the initiative to build a new school in Cinnamon Gardens on the lines of Royal College, Colombo.[4] In 1967, Minister Iriyagolla began the ground work for establishing the school. It was named after D. S. Senanayake, who was the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) after gaining independence. R. I. T. Alles, an assistant principal at Royal College became the head teacher of the new school. The location in which the college stands today was at that time called the Kumbikale jungle.[5]
As a resolution the Ministry of Education had taken a decision to increase the number of primary schools, to meet with the increasing demand of parents enrolling their children to Colombo schools. The secretary of the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, M. J. Perera, was assigned to find a suitable plot of land to start the new school. Accordingly, the empty plot of land situated down the Gregory's road normally "Kubi Kelle" adjoining Kinsy road was selected for the purpose with another land bounded the said premises which belonged to the Ministry of Defense and also was acquired building plans were prepared and implemented by the state engineering co - operation.
Alles who had been an assistant teacher at Royal College had been appointed as the principal of D. S. Senanayake College. He was helped by the principal of Royal College, B. Premarathne. The cadet platoon of the Royal College also cleaned the land holding a shramadana. Five assistant teachers and office equipment were donated by the Royal College.
| Name | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|
| R. I. T. Alles | 1967 - 1982 | |
| P. Samaranayake | 1982 - 1984 | |
| S. M. A. J. A. Mayadunne | 1984 - 1989 | |
| R. I. T. Alles | 1989 - 1992 | |
| Somabandhu Kodikara | 1992 - 1995 | |
| G. C. Adikari | 1995 - 1999 | |
| Asoka Senani Hewage | 1999 - 2010 | |
| D. M. D. Dissanayake | 2010 - 2016 | |
| R. M. M. Rathnayake | 2016 - 2020 | |
| Prasanna Upashantha | 2020 - 2023 | |
| Sampath Weragoda | 2023–present |
The school has a hostel which provides accommodation to over 200 students. The hostel was opened in January 2003 by the Minister of Education, Karunasena Kodituwakku. The students were admitted to the hostel for the first time in February 2003.
| Name | Notability | References | |
|---|---|---|---|
| electrical engineer, environmentalist and social activist | |||
| international cricket player (1993–1994) | |||
| international cricket player (1984–2003) | |||
| Surgeon and academic | |||
| international cricket player (2015–present) | |||
| Major General, General Officer Commanding of the 58 Division (2020–present) | |||
| member of parliament – Colombo (2015–present) | |||
| Major General, Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army (2020–present) | |||
| international cricket player (1986–1987) | |||
| Colonel, former Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Military Intelligence Corps (2004–2005) | |||
| international cricket player (1998–2002) | |||
| singer, musician, music producer | |||
| Western Provincial Councillor (2014–present) | |||
| member of parliament – Anuradhapura (2010–present) | [6] | ||
| international cricket player (1986–2004) | |||
| international cricket player (2009–present) | |||
| filmmaker | |||
| Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councillor (1988–1993), acting Diyawadana Nilame, Temple of the Tooth (1975–2005) | |||
| actor, model | [7] | ||
| Presenter | |||
| cricketer 2002 - 2003 | |||
| Premnath C. Dolawatte | Attorney-at-Law, member of Parliament - Colombo (2020 - present), and LGBT+ rights advocate | [8] |