Royal Central College Polonnaruwa

Royal Central College was founded by government minister C. P. De Silva on the lines of the Royal College, Colombo. Silva laid the foundation stone of the school on 19 April 1959. Six years later the school was opened for local children. Scholarships were offered to students in Polonnaruwa and Trincomalee districts. The main objective of the school was to give proper educational opportunities for the children of farmers. The school also owned 54 acres (220,000 m²) of land and paddy fields and the income from these was used to fund the school. At the beginning students were recruited to grade 9 and upwards. Students were selected for art, commerce, and science classes by scholarship examination in grade 8. D. B. Karunathilaka was the school's first principal and R. W. Galahitiyawa was the vice principal. The school had around 22 staff in 1965.