The Bell Tower is a reminder of Hartley College, Point Pedro in the 19th Century
Hartley College was founded in 1838 by Rev. Dr. Pe t e r Perceival a scholar cum educationist, who compiled the English/ Tamil Dictionary and also translated the Bible into Tamil. At that time the school was known as “WESLEYAN MISSION CENTRAL SCHOOL”. In 1848 t he Central Sch o o l s Commission recommended a grant to the school for its good work.
In the year 1860, the school remained closed for part of the year owing to some difficulties. Later, D. P. Niles restarted it in 1861 and put it on a strong footing and became the principal. At the end of the 19th century the Wesleyan Mission Central School moved to the present location due to the efforts of the principal D.P. Niles. He was followed by Mr. Samuel Hensman. The first great Head Master who laid the foundation for the present Hartley College by building a hall and two classrooms was J.C. Sherrard. It is during his time that the school was upgraded as the “Point Pedro Methodist Central School”. In 1878 J. C. T. Sherrad became the Head Master under Rev. Napp. He became so popular; and the college was known as “Sherrad’s school”. In 1912 the school was called as “Christ Church School”.
There was a succession of Principals after J. C. Sherrard, S. A Paulpillai, K. Kanapathipillai and Abraham. Though these Principals except Sherrard served for short periods, their names left an imprint in the four Houses named after them.
After the pioneering work of Mr Sherrard who served for nearly 31 years, the next great Principal who served for nearly thirty years was Mr. C. P. Thamotharam. He can be called the Father of Modern Hartley. In 1916 Rev. Marshall Hartley, Secretary of the Methodist Mission for the East visited the school and laid the foundation for a science Laboratory. The school was re- named “Hartley College”.
In 1933, the Past Pupils Association was initiated In 1943 K. Pooranampillai became the Principal of the College. He introduced the ‘Prefect System’ in the college for the first time which proved a great success until this day. He ensured maintenance of ‘Discipline’ in the college at all levels and ‘ Punctuality’ at every planned act and deed. He adorned the post of principal for thirty years and a large number of those who were students during his period benefited immensely. After his period S. Ratnasabapathy became the Principal in 1967 and during his time 21 students entered to the Engineering Faculty. In 1953 the Centenary celebrations was held on a grand scale.
Later C. Rajadurai, P. Ahamparam, W. N. S. Samuel, P. Balasingam, served as Principals. During the period of 1984 to 1989 the school faced many challenges and those were overcome with great success. In 1984 the College Library with 6690 books and a few classrooms were burnt and in 1985 the School was shifted to Puttalai. In the year 1989 a commemorative stamp and a First Day cover was issued to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the college and the celebration took place with great success. In 1990 entire school was shifted to the old site.
After the retirement of P. Balasingam, K. Nadarajah, P. Venugobal, M. Shreepathy and V. Pathmanathan served as principals.
Then in 2006 N. Theivendrarajah came in as the principal. He was a past pupil of Hartley. N.Theivendrarahah saw a modern Hartley taking shape with a new Library, additional workshops, additional classrooms, a canteen, computer laboratories, a basketball court, a new auditorium, an inner road and other facilities. Additional lands were acquired for the expansion of the school and playgrounds. Education and sports facilities improved. During his time National level records increased not only in the field of academics but also in sports and other activities.
In the year 2013, again a commemorative stamp and a First Day cover was issued to commemorate the 175th Anniversary of the College and the celebration were held for four days. An exhibition, tournaments, competitions, a spell master competition and a magazine was release to mark the occasion.
The construction work on the hostel commenced at a colossal sum of RS 60M donated by a distinguished past pupil of the College, Iyan. K. Karan Senator, Hamburg, Germany. The construction work was completed in 2013 and was ceremoniously opened on March 1, 2014 by Senator Iyan K.Karan and his wife Barbara. The construction of the Mahindodaya lab is still in progress.
In July, 2014 N. Theivendrarajah was promoted as the Assistant Secretary to the Ministry Of Education, Northern Province and T. Muhunthan became the Principal on July 12, 2014. He was holding the post of Assistant Director of Education, Mathematics in the Provincial Education Department, Northern Province.
Annually over 95% of the students qualify to follow the Advanced Level classes and many students get 3 A’s in their A/L examinations. In 2013, nine students acquired 3A’s while S. Dinesh secured the 1st place in the district and 6th at the National level in G.C.E A/L Bio Stream.
Students bring honour and glory to the college in all extra activities. In 2010, Vadiveswaran Harikaran won the gold medal and was awarded colours in Under 21 Discus Throw ( 36.9m) and Thurailingam Balakumar won the Gold Medal and was awarded colours in Under 19 Pole-Vault (3.60m) at the National Level in 2010 & 2011. Jeyarajah Kapilananth won the Board Prize in under 15 All Island Schools Chess tournament while Kanagasabai Mahinthan won the Board Prize in the under 19 All Island Schools Chess Tournament in 2013. Vijayakumar Jatharthan won colours at All Island Schools Athletic Meet (2014) in the Discus throw in Under 17 events.
With all these modern facilities and academic performances, the first building with the Bell Tower stands as a beacon, a reminder of the origin of Hartley in the 19th century.