Government Primary And Secondary School St. Thomas' College Matara was founded by the Christian Missionary Society of England in 1844. As a result of this St. Fr.
The main concern of the various missionary bodies in Sri Lanka during the early period of British rule was the determination to give their students a sound English education. Thomas' School later to become a secondary school in 1914 as St. Thomas' College commenced in a bungalow in the village of Wellamadama, the current location of the University of Ruhuna. The school was founded by one of the fi
rst Anglican Missionaries in Sri Lanka, Rev. N. J. Ondatjee in 1844 with a few students and three teachers. In the year 1960 St. Thomas' College was vested in the Government after a long period of missionary control. K. B. Jayasuriya became the first principal under Government administration. The J. E. M. Fernando, K. Jayasuriya and E. A. de L. W. Samarasinghe reactivated the college's old boys association, which was defunct after its inauguration by S. Gunasekeram in 1934. D. Jayasekera designed the college flag and the crest in the early part of the 20th century. Kumaratunga Munidasa taught Sinhala language and literature at the school. He once expressed his enthusiasm for his alma-mater by writing the following phrase in his book, Kiyawana Nuwana, which is used as a text book in the school in the second form: "Among countries one which resembles the Island of Sri Lanka and among its cities, one which in Sri Lanka to Matara and among its schools, one which could stimulates St. Thomas' who will be able to emulate." The school is one of the oldest cricket playing school in the island and plays the St. Thomas'–St. Servatius Cricket Encounter with St. Servatius' College. This is the second oldest cricket encounter in the island, also known as the "Battle of the Blues" or Battle of the Ruhunu. Thomas' College also introduced scouting and cadeting to Matara.
