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The Primary Section of Royal College had its first ever five day Swimming Carnival from 07^th to 11^th May 2018 at the College Swimming Pool

The main objective of this  event was to promote sports, amongst children in the junior grades especially  promote swimming . Throughout the Carnival, there were ample opportunities for the youngsters to take part in some kind of an aquatic  game, even for those  who are unable  to swim at all.. As swimming is mostly considered  an individual game, these activities were included also in order to promote the team spirit amongst the children.

This was a magnificent event with a participation of approximately 69% of the total student population  in the Primary Section. As this was held for the first time in the history of Royal College  with no any benchmarks to follow, the process facilitation had to be  done by the Old Royalists’ HR Professionals’ Association (ORHRPA) on a request of the College Authorities. “This would be just a start of a long journey for swimming  at Royal College. A well-structured approach resulted in this remarkable success with the support of the College senior leadership team and the parent groups, appointed with varying responsibilities, as the organizing committee”  stated Prabhash Hettiarachchi,  President  –  ORHRPA. Furthermore, he appreciated the leadership support given by the senior leadership of the College,  Secretary of the RCU, Mrs. Subhodha Samarasinghe,  Teacher-in-charge of Swimming of the Primary Section and Mr. Nishantha de Costa, the Head Coach and his team.

A separate solemn award ceremony was held in the presence of Director of Sports  in the Ministry of Education, Col. Manjula Kariyawasam as the Chief Guest and Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe  former Navy Commander  & High Commissioner to Australia as the Guest of Honour at Navarangahala, on 31^st May 2018.

The annual medical screening programme for the students of grade 6 was conducted for the 16^th consecutive year, on the 8^th of May 2018, from 7.30 am to 10.30 am at the grade 6 building premises. This programme was organized by the Royal College Doctors Association (RCDA) in collaboration with Loyalty Pledge(LP). Principal, deputy principals, vice principals, senior games master of Royal College and assistant secretary of the RCU graced the occasion. Dr Sandacan Waduge and Dr Nayanajith Komasaru were the chief organizers of the event and Miss Sharlene de Chickera was the coordinator of Loyalty Pledge. 15 RCDA members were assigned as coordinators for each class. The programme was conducted with the participation of 60 doctors including Dr Ajith Tennakoon (President-RCDA), senior office bearers of the Loyalty Pledge including Mr Abhaya Amaradasa (Chairman-LP) and Edex and 45 prefects/stewards.

Of the 698 students of grade 6, 654 students participated in the screening program that featured symptoms analysis, BMI (body mass index) assessment, hearing and vision checks and general medical examinations. 305 students were identified as having medical problems and of these students 42 had multiple problems. The following is a summary of the medical problems identified.

All eye referrals were taken over by Dr Hiranya Abeysekera (Consultant Paediatric Eye Surgeon) and all nutritional referrals were taken over by Dr SBT Weerasekara and Dr Ahmad Rushdie (medical nutritionists). Dr Lakmal Kulasekara, Dr Sandaruwan Rajapaksha and Dr Nilanga Peiris arranged follow up for all dental cases. The remaining children with medical issues were referred to relevant specialists of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Borella. The screening programme will be followed up by onsite nutritional and ophthalmological interventional programmes and long-term monitoring.

The organizers would like to convey their sincere gratitude to all RCDA members for their professional assistance, to Loyalty Pledge for funding and guiding the programme, to the Master in charge of prefects and all prefects and stewards for timely participation, to the grade head and all teaching staff of grade 6 for their cooperation and to all the students for their participation.

Compiled by: Dr.Sandacan Waduge,Dr.Nayanajith Komasaru

The 2018 edition of the Royal Shuttle Service, successfully concluded its ‘three-day journey’ for the second consecutive year, with a record number of travelers using the service.

The Royal Shuttle Service offered a FREE & EXCLUSIVE transport service to the students and the teachers of  Royal College Boys Tent at the 139^th Battle of the Blues, covering three routes; SSC to Panadura (along the Galle Road), SSC to Kadawatha (along Baseline & Kandy Roads) & SSC to Homagama (along the High Level Road).

The Royal Shuttle Service was deployed along the aforesaid  routes, after the day’s play on the 9^th, 10^th and 11^th March, assuring a safe journey home, to almost 400 students and teachers of the  College.

In addition, a group of approximately 50 students of  St Thomas’ College Boys Tent also used the Royal Shuttle Service to reach home after the day’s play. This was a key highlight of the project in 2018 and a true occasion of keeping up with the real Roy-Tho spirit.

This exclusive service is a proud project of the Royal College Group of 2008, which is celebrating its 10^th anniversary, this year.

Sri Lanka Insurance was the Co-sponsor for the 2018 edition of the Royal Shuttle