Ananda College

Ananda College is a prominent Buddhist school in Maradana, Colombo. It was established as the English Buddhist School by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott in 1886. In the present day, it provides primary and secondary education on a campus of . Early history Following a meeting of Buddhists at Pettah, under the patronage of Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera, an English-Buddhist school was inaugurated at 19 Prince Street on 1 November 1886 by the Buddhist Theosophical Society. The first session was attended by 37 students. In 1888, when about 130 boys were attending, it moved to 61 Maliban Street. C. W. Leadbeater was appointed the first principal of Ananda today. By the time the school was officially registered in March 1889, there were 120 students. That same year, J. P. R. Weerasuriya became the first Anandian to pass the Cambridge junior examination. The Cambridge graduate and confessed Buddhist A. E. Bultjens became principal. In March 1890, the school's proximity to a Catholic school led to controversy—and a move to 54 Maliban Street where further growth ensued, and student enrollments rose to 200 in September 1892 and 270 in 1894. As principals followed Don Baron Jayatilaka. That year, Mr. Tudor Rajapaksha donated of land and the school was relocated in the suburb of Maradana. On 17 August 1895, the former English Buddhist School was renamed to Ananda College Colombo with R. A. Mirando serving as its manager till his death during the 1915 riots.