St. Paul’s Girls’ School’s vision is to endow the world with righteous individuals
St. Paul’s Milagiriya, is a very popular girl’s school in Colombo, which is decorated with a glorious past. Initiated on the 14th of January 1887, the school was initially a Parish school of St.paul’s Church in Milagiriya. At its inception the school housed 24 students and 4 teachers. It was the tireless efforts of Miss Stella Coban, who served as the first principal of the school during the period from 1887 to 1922, and the dedicated principals of the school after her that made a significant contribution to the development of the school to its current standard. The school currently educates 3500 students through the tireless efforts of the staff numbering to 175.
The current principal, Mrs. Geetha Abeygunawardene, shares a strong vision to further enhance the school and its students. The school vision is “to endow the world with righteous individuals who have acquired the competencies to change for the betterment of oneself and of others and are able to secure an honourable place in the society”. Over the years, this is exactly what the students of St.paul’s have offered society upon leaving the nurturing environment of the school. The staff and authorities of St. Paul’s inculcates these qualities in their students by providing them with equal opportunities to participate in curricular and co-curricular activities. This ensures that the students of St. Paul’s are able to enter society as all-round individuals with integrity and grace, who are able to confidently face the challenges of society. St.paul’s is proud to be a multireligious and multi- ethnic environment that fosters unity, acceptance and equality amongst its students.
The school is proud to say that their students are highly talented and always excel at cultural and talent competitions. The dancing troops of the school consistently win places at the All-island dance competition. The talents of Paulians are not recognized only in Sri-lanka but internationally as well. The school band was placed first at the Celesta, International Cultural Festival, held in Lucknow, India in 2010; whilst the traditional dancing troop also secured first place. The school band is also currently the best band in the country with them winning major competitions in the country. The students have also received notable successes in sporting event such as, receiving third place at the All-island School Games in Karate in the under- 19 category, whilst the under- 17 basketball team secured third place at the All Island basket ball championship and receiving the Zonal championship in Basketball for the under-19 category.
The school has produced many outstanding past pupils, amongst them are popular artists, doctors, engineers and teachers. The Past Pupil’s association of St.paul’s is an active entity and plays a vital role in the development of the school; the London branch of the past pupil’s association supports economically challenged students at the school by providing them with scholarships. The school development society also aids the school by being involved in the decision making process of the school.
Th e p r i n c i p a l , M r s. Geetha Abeygunawardene, especially mentioned the schools focus on discipline as she believes that if there is discipline within the school then all other educational aspects will fall in place. She also went on to say “our children are not in the education race, but we focus on delivering the knowledge to them. We expect our students to be well-rounded, balanced in education and co-curricular activities and also to possess a good personality. So I ask all parents to send their children for extra-curricular activities”
Future plans of the school include a possible expansion of the school premises to provide more space for the students. This year, St.paul’s Girls School Milagiriya celebrates a glorious 125 years of grooming successful and confident individuals in society. Special celebrations will be organised throughout the year; a walk was held in January 2012, and it was attended by over 5000 people. Future events include the release of an official stamp, along with an exhibition scheduled for mid-2012 as well as the annual band show to be held on a very grand scale.
Congratulations to St.paul’s Girls School Milagiriya in reaching a legacy of 125 years and wishing them success in the future and may they continue to provide strong, confident and gracious students to society.
- Joanne Kotelawala.