Even in the last half of the 19th century, there was no school for the boys and girls of Kaduwela Bomiriya area to study.
The rich people who worked to provide their children with certificates as required by the English administration sent their children to the English schools run by the missionaries. Some rich people also secured private tutoring for their children.
The history of Bomiriya Central College can be traced back to Sri Lanka’s colonial past. Until the late 19th century, the children of Kaduwela lacked access to educational facilities. In response to this need, village chieftain H.A.D Lewis Gunasekara took the initiative in 1890 to establish a school in Bomiriya on land he owned.
Principal
Asanga Tillakaratne
This educational endeavour aimed to benefit the local children. The school with a thatched roof, became popularly known as the ‘school under the beli tree’ among the residents in the area. But before long the school became rundown and a teacher at the school Don Simon Gunasekara moved the school to his residence located on Avissawella Road, Bomiriya.
However during 1898 – 1902 the village headman at the time Sathan Arachchi donated an acre of land and built a new school with the support of the residents. The school relocated to Avissawella Road in Bomiriya and was officially named the Government Bilingual School – Bomiriya. Its first headmaster was Don Simon Gunathilake. Arrangements were made to teach both Sinhala and English languages in this bilingual school.
In an interesting historical note, it is reported that in 1909, the renowned laureate Kumaratunga Munidasa served as a trainee teacher at this school. Subsequently, the school underwent a renaming process and became known as the Kumaratunga Munidasa Junior School.
In the period around 1917-18, as the school’s student population steadily grew, it faced a shortage of space. Responding to the requests from the principal, teachers, and villagers, the Government decided to relocate the school to a more spacious location. Generously contributing to this initiative, H.D. Dawson Gunasekara, a resident of Bomiriya, donated two and a half acres of his land to the Government to construct the new school.
Local community
Subsequently, with the backing of the Government and the assistance of the local community, the inaugural structure was constructed on the donated land, the present site of Bomiriya Central College. Established in 1920, it commenced as a bilingual boys’ school. In its early days, the school accommodated 150-200 students and had a teaching staff of six, all within a building covering 4,200 square feet.
With the relocation of the bilingual school to a new site, the original premises in Lower Bomiriya became the Girls’ School. Simultaneously, the new location transformed into the Boys’ School at Bomiriya. The Bomiriya Central College is now a co-educational school.
The current Principal Asanga Thilakaratne is the 12th Principal of the school which gradually reached the pinnacle of development under eleven previous principals. He has led the establishment of Bomiriya Madhya Maha Vidyalaya as a prestigious college by taking children forward in education, sports and extracurricular activities.
Holistic development
Principal Thilakaratne is dedicated to advancing Bomiriya Central College as a prestigious educational institution, emphasising academic excellence and the holistic development of students.
He guided the school through a difficult period that included the pandemic and the economic crisis.
During this period, 52 students from the Science, Maths, Arts and Technology streams have received university admission in the 2022 A/L examination. The school has also succeeded at the GCE O/L examination.
In addition to this, the students of Bomiriya Madhya Maha Vidyalaya have won all-island competitions in Music, Art, Sinhala Language and Literature, English Language and Karate.
For the first time in the history, the big cricket match (Battle of Kelani Valley) was held at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo on July 30, 2023 with the Sri Rajasinghe Madhya Maha Vidyalaya as the opponents.
In addition, the school won the third place in the under-20 cricket tournament, the championship in the under-18 volleyball (boys), the runner-up in the under-17 football (girls), the championship in the under-20 football tournament, and the championship in the under-20 volleyball tournament. These were remarkable achievements by the students.
Pix: Nissanka Wijeratne
