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Royal College Union (RCU) the old-boys’ arm of the Royal College was started on 17 January 1891 It has no doubt weathered many storms from the Victorian times up to now and evolved into a modern alumni association fully aware and sensitive to the ground situation of the country and the needs of the present student population of Royal College. The student population of the College has now evolved as a microcosm of the Sri Lankan population, with children from all races, religions, all walks of life rubbing shoulders with each other.

This composition, while being a good fermenting process to mould children to face the future Sri Lankan and world society, has its own problems that our forefathers who brought forth the union in 1891 did not have or even could imagined. However, we have not only successfully faced them but also conquered them to assist our Alma Mater, to continue to be the top most primary and secondary education institution in the country.

It is also important to note that the RCU, its affiliates and member groups spend approximately 30 million rupees (SLR) annually towards co-curricular, extra-curricular, sports, skills development, scholarship awarding, student welfare, teachers welfare and other activities of our alma-mater. In addition the RCU has over the years built and donated many infrastructure facilities valued over approximately 400 million rupees (SLR), such as the RC Sports Complex, Swimming pool, new Hostel building, Skills Development, Career guidance and counselling centre and JRJ Pavilion amongst many others.

As a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative the RCU organizes the annual EDEX exhibition (Sri Lanka’s largest Higher Education and Careers exhibition) which also makes the single most significant financial contribution to the RCU trust.

The Unionlooks after the requirements of needy and academically, aesthetically or athletically capable students via the Loyalty Pledge scheme. Funds are obtained from generous old boys and well-wishers who voluntarily donate money to the scheme periodically – monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc. and scholarships are awarded to the needy students.

Going beyond on the CSR root to celebrate it’s Quasquicentennial year on the 6^th of October, members ofthe RCU (by partnering with “Trail 2016”)will be walking from Northern Point Pedro to Southern Dondra Head for 28 days, with the aim of raising USD 5 million, in order to build a cancer treatment facility, as part of an extension of the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle.

Established in 1982, the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital is the 3rd largest national hospital in the country and the most accessed healthcare centre in the Southern part of Sri Lanka. In 2015, the hospital recorded its highest number of cancer related deaths and national incidence is on the rise. In addition, it has seen a dramatic influx of patients traveling from surrounding provinces seeking treatment. The hospital is understaffed and over capacity – it is in dire need of an expansion.

The facility will be named as “Royal College Union – Childrens’ ward”.

The– Trail 2016 is the ‘Walk Back’ post the success of Trail 2011 brought to light the powerful impact created when individuals across the country were united in building Tellippalai Trail Cancer Hospital in Jaffna.

The Quasquicentennial celebrations of the Royal College Union fell on the 17^th of January 2016. To commemorate this landmark year, several events have been scheduled, celebrating all that is wonderful about Royal College and the RCU.

The first such event was the formal black-tie dinner held on the 17th of January 2016 at the Oak Room, Cinnamon Grand hotel, where the school, the Union, its history and heritage were toasted and recounted.

This formal dinner was exclusively for Old Royalists and their spouses/partners.

The evening commenced with pre-dinner cocktails at the Atrium lobby. Members of the Royal College Choir were in attendance and kept the guests entertained.

Four Hundred and Fifty Royalists and their spouses/partners graced this special event.

The Royal College Eastern Band ushered in the Hon. Ranil Wickramasinghe – Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in to the Oak Room, rest of the distinguished guests followed closely behind.

Formal proceedings commenced at 8.30 p.m. with the singing of the National Anthem and the College song. Music was provided by the Sri Lanka Navy band.

Mr. Mahen Perera – Chairman, RCU 125th Anniversary Celebrations Committee, delivered the toast to H.E. the President of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Ranil De Silva – Chairman of the RCU formal dinner Committee, proposed the toast to Absent Friends.

Thereafter, Mr. Ken Balendra took to the podium to introduce Mr. Eustace Lorenz Pereira, a highly accomplished and distinguished Old Boy of Royal College.

Mr. Lorenz Pereira proposed the toast to Royal College and the Principal of Royal College responded to it.

Hon. Ranil Wickramasinghe – Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, proposed the toast to the RCU and Mr. Athula Munasinghe – Secretary of the RCU, responded duly.

Mr. Sarinda Unamboowe delivered the ‘after-dinner’ speech

All guests were treated to a six-course gourmet dinner along with Red & White wines and Champagne

The Formal dinner proceedings concluded at 11.00 p.m. and thereafter, guests moved over to the ‘Sequel’ for the after-party.

Sponsors:

• Capital Alliance Limited (CAL)
• LOLC
• Master Card
• Brandix
• Sri Lankan Airlines
• Citrus Events

A fond gathering of students andteachers took place at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institutein October 2015.

RC group of ’96 invited 160 teachers, those who were in the college from the year 1983 – 1996,to enjoy an evening of reminiscing and merriment.

Principal Upali Gunasekara, former principals B Sooriyaarachchi and S. Kumarasinghe were among the invitees to the gathering.

‘It was a wonderful experience. I met my grade 1 class teacher after 33 years of first meeting her at Royal,’ said AmindaSamarawickrama President of RCG ‘96.

He further said that the teachers were very happy and proud to be with their students and shared many memories of their time at college.

As the ‘Lions’ clash with the ‘Elephants’ in their own backyard at the first leg of the 72nd Bradby Shield , the Royal College Union (RCU) has worked tirelessly to ensure that the 3rd annual Bradby Fiesta scheduled to be held on 30 April 2016 will be nothing short of spectacular.

Quote : Chairman of the Bradby Fiesta Committee Rizan Nazeer

As the Royal College Union celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, The Bradby Fiesta is scaling up to reach even greater heights than the last two events. This year’s fiesta will see an inclusion of an exclusive Rugby zone with exciting Rugby games courtesy of HSBC. Furthermore, former Wallaby Captain and HSBC Rugby Ambassador George Gregan will meet and greet Rugby fans young and old at the HSBC Rugby zone. This will be first time Sri Lanka will witness a world class Rugby zone and Rugby legend in one location. All this is made possible by HSBC, the main sponsor of the Fiesta for the 3rd consecutive year.

Tharanga Gunasekera – Head of Marketing and Communications for HSBC Sri Lanka, commenting said, “Rugby is one of the popular sports supported by HSBC globally and we are delighted to leverage on our global Rugby footprint as an international bank to introduce a world class Rugby experience to fans here in Sri Lanka. The Rugby zone is one that will be very similar for instance to that at the HSBC / Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sevens tournament and other global Rugby tournaments experienced by ardent fans. We are also happy to present our Rugby Ambassador and former WallabyCaptain – George Gregan here in Sri Lanka. This is undoubtedly going to be a treat for all Rugby fans young and old at the 3rdBradby Fiesta that HSBC will support as its main sponsor for the 3rd consecutive year.”

Bradby Fiesta 2016 will be partnered by Softlogic Holdings PLC for the first time.
Softlogic would bring in a diverse flavour to this exciting event by showcasing its impressive line up of Consumer Electronics from state of the art LED TVs, home theater systems to mobile handsets, laptops and kitchen appliances. The stall will no doubt add color to the day’s festivities. Ford, the iconic US automobile brand would be present showcasing its line up of sought after vehicles from the Ford Everest to the Focus.

A special game zone for kids will be set up by Milo for the young ones to enjoy throughout the day.

The fiesta will kick off at 10.00 am and go on until 12.00 mid night at the Bloomfield Grounds in Colombo. Trinity supporters who arrive in Colombo via train, will be received by Royal supporters and the ensuing comradeship and festive atmosphere will be sure to kick start the Bradby Fiesta in its true spirit. A number of five-star restaurants will be ready to dish out great food and beverages in true hawker street style, while Sri Lanka’s best known musicians; Black, Misty, Bathiya & Santhush, Sunil Perera, Corinne Almeida and Manilal will set the stage for an electrifying evening of non stop live music. Adding to the entertainment will be DJ music, The Royal College drum fusion and the students’ band who will also provide entertainment in addition to the various fun carnival rides.

The Bradby Shield encounter will be telecast live on LED screens at Bloomfield so that fans at the fiesta can join in the fun and cheer on their favorite team if one is unable to secure a ticket to enter the Royal College sports complex.

Furthermore, all HSBC credit cardholders will be allowed free entrance to the Bradby fiesta. Other partners of Bradby Fiesta 2016 include Nestlé, CEAT, Elephant House Ice Cream and My Cola.

All Rugby lovers young and old are invited to witness undoubtedly the biggest ever rugby extravaganza in Sri Lanka.

Built on the ethos of inspiring youth to be globally competitive, the Royal College Union Skills Centre organises and endorses programs in line with developing skills and competencies of young people. Its recent partnership with City & Guilds – UK, a prestigious world renowned certification awarding body, offers a range of courses for students.

City & Guilds offers courses in Engineering and Digital Media Marketing for O/L and A/L students of all schools. By allowing students to follow such programmes while attending school, the Skills Centre aims to encourage them to acquire these internationally recognised qualifications and competencies from City & Guilds – UK,  so that they are able to plan their future with confidence.

For more inquiries on City & Guild courses and hall reservations, contact the Manager Prabhath Gamalathge on (011) 4503887 or 0773609135 or by  email –scmanager@localhost/rcu

Sri Lankan scrabblers made their mark after emerging ‘Best Team’ at the World Youth Scrabble Championship (WYSC) in Australia held in October. A total of 106 players participated at this year’s championship which was held for the best under 18 players in the world. Three Sri Lankans; Janul de Silva aged 13 from Royal College (4th place),Thirandi De Silva aged 14 from Ladies College (6th place)and Lambotharan Yoganathan aged 17 from Lyceum International College Wattala (8th place) won places in the Top Ten players.

Thus Sri Lanka became the only country with three finishers in the Top Ten and won the award for the best team. No other country had more than one player in the Top Ten. This is the first time that Sri Lanka won the team award; the team was placed third in 2014.

Three Royalists who took part in the championship were able to claim significant titles. Janul de Silva (13) making his second appearance at the WYSC claimed the title of best player in the under 14 category and became 4thoverall in the championship. This is the best ever performance by a Sri Lankan player at the WYSC and he is also the youngest ever Sri Lankan to get into the Top Ten of the WYSC.
Aabid Ismail (14)who is the highest rated School Scrabbler emerged 13th in the championship after narrowly missing out in reaching the top 10 as he lost the last game to Thirandi. Hasindu Arumapperuma (17) was placed 37th.

Scrabble at Royal

The Royal College Scrabble Club was started in 1994 is now thriving with over 120 members and about 60 active members. Present teacher-in-charge is Ms Inosha de Silva.

EDEX Careers – 11^th March 2015.The EDEX Careers Team organised its first Careers Seminar for 2015 after the EDEX Main Expo and its Twin Expo in Kandy; to continue its focused effort in guiding Sri Lankan youth to be globally competitive and sustainable in their chosen careers.