ANANDA COLLEGE THE LEGEND UNBEATEN FOREVER

oved to a more spacious place at No. 19 Prince Street. In 1895, it was relocated to Maradana, the period of A.E. Buultjens and was named after Arahant Ananda, the most devoted disciple of the Buddha. Today Ananda College stands to be one of the greatest Buddhist schools in Asia, with a student population exceeding 7,000 in all 13 grades of secondary education on a campus of more than 20 acres.

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History............

1881 January 1: The inheritance of the Sinhalese Buddhist "Sarasavi Sandaresa"

1881 February 8: The arrival of Col. Olcott at Dharmopakari Society Maradana Colombo.

1885 May 29: The arrival of C. Leadbeater at "Sarasavi Sandaresa".

1886 October 22: An English-Buddhist hall is established.

1886 October 23: A meeting of the Buddhist public was held at Pettah under the patronage of Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera.

1886 November 1: An English-Buddhist school was inaugurated at No. 61 Maliban Street. •C. Leadbeater becomes the first principal of "Ananda today". •37 students attended the first session •Mr. Leadbeater inaugurated Sunday schools for the teaching of Buddhism to the schoolteachers.

1889 January 16: The first prize giving was conducted by Olcott. Submitting school registration applications initiates.

1889 March: The registration of the English-Buddhist school, where there were 120 students. Bath and Oliver Jams graduate from the Madras University and join the teaching staff.

1889 May 27: The first examination is held. The proceeds of the examination amounted to Rs. 359.50.

1889 August: The shifting of the English-Buddhist school from No. 61 Maliban Street to a more spacious premises at No. 19 Prince Street.

1889 December: The first Anandian to pass the Cambridge junior examination was J.P.R. Weerasuriya.

1890: A.E. Buultjens assigned as principal. D.A. Wittachi was the acting principal until Buultjens accepted the position.

1890 March 1: Due to the agitation of a Catholic school's principal saying the transfer was against the educational constitution, the English-Buddhist school shifts its position from No. 19 Prince Street to No. 54 Maliban Street.

1890 October: The second prize giving is conducted by Olcott at No. 54 Maliban Street.

1891 November: C.C. Jayatissa, who was Anandian, was the first Sri Lankan to pass the Cambridge junior examination in the German language.

1892 September: Student enrollment reaches 200.

1893 November: A building fund is inaugurated.

1892-1895: Sri Sumangala Thera held the post of manager.

1894: The student population rose to 270.

1894 January 1: Mudliyar Tudor Rajapaksha donated 3.2 acres (13,000 m2) of land from Paranawadiya to the college.

1895 August 17: The school known as the Pettah English-Buddhist school was renamed Ananda College at Paranawadiya.