The following excerpts are from the preliminary chapter (“A General Survey – The Beginnings”) of Louis Edmund Blaze’s KFE: The Story of Kingswood Kandy (pp. 6-11), which documents the author’s reflections of Kingswood’s first twenty five years.
The school was opened at No. 11, Pavilion Street, Kandy on the 4th May 1891, as a Private School but with the intention that it should be worked, as far as was possible to us, on the lines of the old English Public Schools. There could be no ancient or splendid buildings, of course, or modern equipment, or spacious playgrounds, or inspiring traditions; but the tone and temper, the sense of honour and the obligation of duty – even the boyish mischief – described in so many books and magazines, might well be encouraged, even in a humble degree, in the boys of Ceylon.
The name given to it was The Boys’ High School, and the Notice issued to the public was dated the 6th April 1891. Private Schools were not then in much favour with the residents of Kandy, for such schools were usually short-lived arrangements for the convenience of law students and others. Besides Trinity College, which then had the Rev. Napier-Clavering as its newly-arrived Principal, there were at least three other well-established schools in Kandy; but from the beginning we disclaimed the absurd idea of competition with the established institutions, and we sought to live on the friendliest terms with them…
… It must be born in mind that in 1891 Kandy Town had a populations of only 23,000 which in the next ten years increased by only 3,600. The Kandyans were still indifferent to, or suspicious of, the benefits of Western education. The failure of the coffee industry had brought on a severe depression, only lifted by the gradual rise of the tea industry.
The house in Pavilion Street, which had been untenanted for some time, was secured for us by Mr. J.W. Samaraweera, and the furniture, consisting of a few desks and benches, was provided by Mr. J.B. Blaze. These two were the earliest and warmest supporters of the new venture, and, indeed, it was largely on their advice that the venture was made. Other friends who came to us later were Dr. F. Keyt; Mr. J.H. Barber, who drafted a prospectus for the school; Mr. J. Dunbar Jonklaas; Mr. J.B. Siebel, a constant contributor to the School Magazine when it was started; and Mr. H.M. van Cuylenberg, who interested the “Ceylon Independent” in our favour.
There were eleven pupils present on the opening day – E.T. and H.R. Garnier, Irwin Sylvester (from Lahore), A.C.B. and E.G. Jonklaas, J.D. Blaze, J.H. Siebel, J. Stainton, and Edward, J.C., and J.E. Grebe. Two days afterwards came W.E. Barber and W.C.R. Greve. Several other young gentlemen were soon added to our numbers who could not help making things somewhat livelier. Among those admitted during our first year were: A.E. Perera Wanigatunge, H. van Lynden Wallbeoff, F. Keyt, C.C. Barber, W.E. Gratiaen, Fred Newman, C.F. Wilkins, A.W. Gray, Herbert van Dort, Paul and Arthur Hawke; during the second year: James Newman, Percy, Victor, Lloyd, and Hugh van Langenberg, G.P. Keuneman, St. John and Claude Jonklaas, L.M. Wilkins, W.T. Samaraweera, Angus H. de Silva, P. Ambrose, James Gray, Edgar White, Hussain Sirray (Egyptian), and H.A. Ebert; and during the third year: A.E Whatmore, A.E.A. Poulier, Ibrahim and Ali (sons of Arabi Pasha), R.W. White, and Ali Foad (son of Toulba Pasha).
The holiday periods were a month each at Easter, Midsummer, and Christmas. The Tuition fees charged monthly were: Classes I-III, Rs. 2.00; IV and V, Rs. 4.00; VI, Rs. 6.00; Cambridge Junior, Rs. 7.50; Cambridge Senior or Calcutta Entrance, Rs. 10.00. No reduction was made for April or other holiday periods. These fees were somewhat higher than those charged elsewhere.
The school hours were from 10.30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an interval of half an hour for tiffin. The Registers of admission and of attendance, as furnished by the Government, were used by us in strict conformity with the rules, and the requirements of the Government Code of Education were followed as closely as possible…
… Rugby football was begun in our first year, and regularly played till the Association game gradually took its place, and the Bogambora green became available for cricket practice. Football matches at Matale were an occasional change, and we had picnics at Peradeniya. We collected money for the Mauritius Cyclone Fund in 1892. A Debating Class met for the first time in March 1893 and in the same month a large two-page leaflet was issued as a School Magazine. Altogether, we were a fairly happy and clubbable company with Education rather than Examination as the rule of the school…
… By 1894 the School may be said to have established itself. Mr. H.D. Jansz, who now flourishes in the Malay States, was our first Assistant Master, and Mr. C.A. Perera Wanigatunge came later for a couple of months. The Rev. L.E. Cox, of St. Paul’s Kandy, and since Archdeacon of Madras, came once or twice a week for Scripture lessons to the Senior Boys. When he left Kandy, the Rev. H. Bray, his successor, continued the lesson for a short time.
More than once I had been invited to place the School under the management of the Wesleyan Mission, but to this I was strongly averse, as complete freedom of action and of policy was of the essence of our well being. However, an agreement was arrived at, and on the 1st July 1894, the management was transferred to a Committee representing the Mission. The members of this Committee were the Rev. A. Triggs, Superintendent of the Circuit (Manager), the Rev. P.R. Willenberg (Secretary), Mr. J.W. Samaraweera (Treasurer), and Messers. J.H. Eaton, J.B. Blaze, and R.M. Smith. The Principal was added to the Committee in August 1895. It is a pleasure to record that from the missionary Managers we received ready encouragement, and from most of them wholehearted sympathy and assistance. It is possible that one or two of them may have doubted, as most people did in fact doubt, if the school could prove a success… But they were helpful and considerate and alive to the interests of the School which continued its work in the way in which it was begun…
… We had Cambridge Local Classes, and also prepared students for the Calcutta University and the local Law Entrance examinations. In 1895 the School was “recognized” by the Calcutta University as qualified to present pupils for the Entrance examination, and in 1896 it was registered in Ceylon as a Grant-in-aid School. The first Government examination was held in April 1897… Sixty boys were examined. In the compulsory subjects the percentage obtained was 82, and in all subjects 76. In the same year S. Don James headed the list of successful candidates for the Vernacular Teachers’ License. Next year he won the first “Diamond Jubilee Prize” for proficiency in Sinhalese Language and Literature, heading the list in both sections. It is fair to add that his success was due to his own exertions, as Sinhalese did not form part of our curriculum.
In September 1897, when we were still at Pavilion Street, Mr. E.H. Spencer came to us from India as Second Master.
KFE: The Story of Kingswood Kandy was originally published in 1934. This excerpt was taken from the book’s current edition in use, published in 1994.
KINGSWOOD STORIES 