Ferguson High School, Ratnapura

Ferguson High School - Ratnapura
ෆර්ගසන් උසස් විද්‍යාලය - රත්නපුර
Location
Map
Ratnapura
70000

Sri Lanka
Coordinates6°40′58″N 80°23′55″E / 6.6827135°N 80.3986365°E / 6.6827135; 80.3986365
Information
TypeNational School
MottoLive Pure : Speak True : Right Wrong
Established1917 March 17; 107 years ago (17-03-1917)
PrincipalMercy Galagama
Teaching staff180
Grades1–13
GenderGirls (Grade 1-13)
Boys (Grade 1-5)
Number of students4,700
LanguageSinhala , English , Tamil
Color(s)Dark green and silver
   
AlumniFergusonites
Websitewww.fergusonhighschool.net

Ferguson High School (Sinhala: ෆර්ගසන් උසස් විද්‍යාලය) is a National School in Sri Lanka affiliated with the Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya located in Ratnapura District.[1] School has two sections - the Primary section, which serves students from Grade 1 to Grade 5, and the Secondary section, which serves students from Grade 6 to Grade 13.

History

1917 : Founded as a "Baptist Missionary English School" by the Baptist Missionary Society of British Ceylon. It was started with only three girls, in the premises of Baptist Church in Ratnapura.

1919 : The classroom was moved to the thatched-roofed spacious hall at the hilltop to accommodate the increasing number of 36 students.

1921 : The school was registered as a 'Grant-in-aid English School'[2]

1924 : The school hostel was started.

1925 : Girl Guide Association was pioneered by C. Balasooriya.[3]

1928 : The school known as Baptist Missionary English School was renamed as Ferguson High School in memory Mr. John Ferguson who helped the Baptist Missionary Society in Ceylon.[4]

1932 : The system of school houses was introduced by the acting principal W. F. Gadge.

1933 : The Old Girls Association was initiated by Miss. Allsop.

1958 : School prize giving was held by the Chief guest Madam Sirimavo Bandaranayaka who was a former student of the school.

1960 : Became a Director Managed Government School and no longer a Christian assisted school[5]

1993 : The school was recognized as a National school and 75th Birthday was celebrated with the participation of President Ranasinghe Premadasa

2010 : “Wisdom 2010” educational and Trade exhibition was held.[3]

2017 : 100th anniversary of the school was celebrated with the participation President Maithripala Sirisena. A souvenir stamp was issued[6]

School Crest

Symbolic Representations

  • Motto - Taken from "Idylls of the King" by Lord Tennyson
  • Hills - 3 peaks seen from the school (Sri Padha and two attendant peaks)
  • Double headed Eagle - High soaring free bird looking back with Thankfulness and looking forward with Hope
  • CBC - Ceylon Baptist Council (Founders of School)
  • Gems - School houses.
  • Lamp - Intelligence
  • Book - Knowledge

Drawn by Nalini Gunasekara, the art teacher of the school in 1953 and adopted unanimously[5]

School song

Written by Venetia Stemba, with music by Consy Jayasekara[5]

Houses

Students are divided into four houses.[5]

Amethyst   Sincerity
Garnet   Fraternity
Ruby   Serenity
Sapphire   Purity

Sports

Clubs and extracurricular activities

  • Girl Guide Association[3]
  • Science Association[9]
  • Drama club
  • Media club
  • Photography club
  • Announcing club
  • Chess club
  • Astronomical Association [10]

Principals

Period Name
1917-1922 J.D. Radley
1922 - 1949 Evelyn A. Allsop
1949 - 1960 F. Aurora Brook
1956 - 1971 Pearl Bright Perera
1972 - 1974 Malini Wijenayake
1974 - 1975 Mallika Thambiah
1976 - 1980 Pearl Bright Perera
1981 - 1982 Buddhi Bamunusinghe
1983 - 1986 S. Subasinghe
1987 - 1995 Buddhi Bamunusinghe
1995 - 1999 Malani Kothalawala
2000 - 2003 B. Rani Dariju
2003 U. V. Leelakanthi Nissanka
2004 - 2012 B. V. R. C. Bandarawatta
2012 to present Mercy Galagama

[5]

Notable alumni

Past pupils of Ferguson High School Ratnapura are called Fergusonites.[5] Following is a list of some notable alumni:

Name Notability
Sirimavo Bandaranayaka[11] Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (1960 - 1965, 1970 - 1977, 1994 - 2000) - world's first non-hereditary female head of government in modern history
Thalatha Atukorale[12] Politician, Member of Parliament of Sri Lanka
Rosy Senanayake Politician, Mayor of Colombo, Mrs. World 1984

References

  1. ^ "Educational Data and Information" (PDF). Ministry of Education. Sri Lanka. 2017.
  2. ^ "100 years of outstanding performance". Sunday Observer. 26 March 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "The History of Ferguson High school". FERGUSON HIGH SCHOOL-1992 GROUP.
  4. ^ "History". Ferguson High School. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Memoirs of a Century ෆර්ගසන් සුභාවිතය. ISBN 9789557353005.
  6. ^ "Schoolchildren have responsibility to win the next century – President". Daily News. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  7. ^ "Chess winner". Sunday Times. 7 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Home". www.fergusonhighschool.net. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  9. ^ Vidu Liya. Science Association of Ferguson High School. 2004.
  10. ^ Twitter page @Ferguson_Astro. Astronomical Association of Ferguson High school.
  11. ^ "World's 1st Female Prime Minister | 17 April 1916 - Birth of Sirimavo Ratwatte". Sirimavo Bandaranaike | The World's First Female Prime Minister. 1916-04-17. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  12. ^ "The Island". www.island.lk. Retrieved 2020-03-31.