History of Bishop’s College
1875 is the official year in which the count begins but there is an earlier connection.
Mrs. Frances Chapman wife of Bishop Chapman had set her heart on setting up a school for Christian girls with funds collected while on Furlough in England. She established a school in 1857, a school in their own residence in Mutwal called Bishopsgate, with the 25 pupils she desired. The Principal was Mrs. Long, who had served earlier at the Church Missionary School in Nallur, Jaffna. In May 1859 Mrs. Chapman returned to England due to ill health, and Mrs. Long passed away in 1861. The school had to be temporarily closed and no reference to its reopening is available in the Diocesan Archives.
So Bishop's College dates her new beginnings to 1875, when the school with 13 pupils was established at Fairfield House in Darley Road, under the same name – Bishopsgate School. Fairfield House is the present site of Dialog GSM. Even today the words "Bishopsgate" stands engraved at the entrance to the building. The first Principal to come out was Miss. Down, who on marriage became Mrs. Henry Drew. Among the first girls enrolled were Minnie Von Possner, Hilda Obeysekera, Dorah Aserappah and Caroline Peiris. The first boys to enter the kindergarten were James and Donald Obeysekera and Leslie de Saram.
In 1887, three Sisters from St. Margaret's Convent in East Grinstead, England had come out to Ceylon on missionary work. Theirs was a sorority founded by Dr. John Mason Neale in 1855, which had now expanded to overseas mission. After a short location at Greenpath, they established their Convent at Polwatta, Colpetty. When illness disrupted the administration of Bishopsgate School in 1888, Bishop Copleston invited the Sisters of St. Margaret to take charge. This move afforded years of stability to the school as the Sisters could provide a long line of dedicated Principals. The first Sister to be Principal was Sister Angela.
In 1890, then Bishop of Colombo, Bishop R.S. Copleston, purchased the Marandatin Cinnamon Gardens bordering on Boyd Place, Colpetty. The school moved from Darley Road to these premises in 1892, and was renamed as Bishop's College. For an unbroken period of sixty years from 1895 - 1955 these Sisters guided the students of Bishop's College, not only in their mental development but in the levels of charity, community spirit and public service and upholding of her school motto "Non Sibi Sed Omnibus" - Not for Self, but for All.
The number of students when the school moved to Boyd Place was 70. As early as 1896 an Association of Past Pupils known then as the Bishop's College Association was set up. As Bishop's College entered the 20th century the school chapel was dedicated to St. Agnes, a Martyr of the 4th Century A.D. Althougha Christian Mission School, the Sisters adapted a pluralistic approach to religion and as early as 1909 the role showed a diversity of nationality, race and religion.
The period of the Second World War saw changes. A much loved Principal Sister Mary Kathleen was laid to rest and was succeeded by Sister Mabel. The school was on a stable footing, but the threat of Japanese invasion made it prudent to evacuate the senior school to Kandy while the Kindergarten remained in Colombo. A branch school was set up in Kandy at 'Fern Hill' with 37 students, the Principal and 5 members of staff. The kindergarten and lower school were accommodated in cadjan sheds in the nearby Kandy Girls' High School. Numbers grew and premises No.3, Bahirawakanda were rented out for additional dormitory accommodation. In Colombo, the kindergarten section of the school was requisitioned by the military. Students of Ladies' College then joined the 38 students at Boyd Place to form 'Lake School'. After 3 terms in Kandy both branches of Bishop's College reunited at Boyd Place by January 1944.
With the end of the war, the country was moving towards independence, Bishop's College had in 1943 introduced Sinhala and Tamil as the medium of instruction in the kindergarten, while they were being taught as a subject interest of the school. In time, Sinhala was taught as the mother - tongue in keeping with the national requirement and a Sinhala society was inaugurated. In 1955, with the consent of the government, the low lying land next to the tennis courts were leased and filled, enabling the sports meet to be held for the first time on Bishop's College ground.
In June 1955, the Sisters of St. Margaret withdrew from Bishop's College due to the shortage of Sisters to staff the school. The connection with the Sisters did not end. Sister Gabriel, the last Sister to be Principal was succeeded by Miss. L. Y. Pode, but the senior Sister Superior at the convent functioned as the manager of Bishop's College till 1973, when the last Sister from East Grinstead left the island. A connection between the Sisters and the administration of Bishop's College still remains, with the school participating on St. Margarets' Day and the Convent's sale. The administration of the school was now taken over by a Board with the Bishop of Colombo as the Chairman. The Principal appointed by the Board was to be responsible for the entire internal organization, management and discipline of the school.
In 1959 Bishop's College had the first Ceylonese Principal Miss. A. C. B. Jayasuriya With her came a new identity to the school. With a focus on our National Culture, she introduced the practice that the students of other faiths should commence their day with their own religious observance, as the Christians did, and have their own societies and celebrate their own festivals. She had a school song composed in Sinhala and set to oriental music. A Hewisi Band was trained to complement the Western Band. Activities of Societies in Sinhala and in Tamil as the Tamil stream came up the school were on par with the English which had been a long established tradition.
The school opted to be a fee levying, private school and had to find its own financial resources. The school passed on after 19 years to the Principal-ship of Mrs. Gwen Dias Abeysinghe, a past pupil. She added to the standards inherited and Bishop's College came to produce good examinees, more champions in sports, and excellent theatrical performances; including "The Gondoliers" with a combined cast of girls from Bishop's and boys from the brother school at St. Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia.
The Past Pupils' Association which has grown in strength has always been supportive and assisted with money raising for buildings. Since the school hall, impressing in its day was totally inadequate for present needs, the PPA was anxious to gift an Auditorium to their Alma Mater, and with land leased out from the Government, laid the foundation in 1985. With the rising costs in construction, the project was spread out longer than envisaged but was commissioned for use in 1994. The school, the PPA and Parent-Teacher Association all contributed to make this a reality.
Mrs. Gwendoline Dias Abeysinghe retired in 1989 to be succeeded by Mrs. Lindley Jayasuriya, the Vice Principal at the time. Mrs. Jayasuriya completed a long span of 50 years at Bishop's College, broken only by 5 years at Peradeniya University for her undergraduate and post graduate studies. A new senior school block which houses a library was built in her time. In 1989, Mrs. Marian Hills took up the post of Vice Principal and resigned in 1996 and in 1997 Mrs. Nirmali Wickremasinghe took up the post of Vice Principal and resigned in 2002. She was succeeded by Mrs. Cheryl Cooray a member of staff. Mrs. Lindley Jayasuriya was succeeded by Mrs. Hemamali Bibile in May 2003 and like all previous incumbents of the post adds her own vision to the long tradition of the school.
Mrs. Hemamali Bibile retired on April 2010. She was succeeded by Ms. Sharmila Gunatilleke (formerly Mrs. Sharmila Corea) a past pupil, hosteller and former member of staff. She joined us having resigned her post at The British School in Colombo.
Mrs.Cheryl Cooray retired as Vice Principal in December 2013 and she was succeeded by Mrs. Chemali Herath a past pupil, hosteller, and a member of staff from January 2014.