St. John's College, Jaffna

St. John's College ( Ceṉ. Yōvāṉ Kallūri, SJC) is a private school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1823 by British Anglican missionaries, it is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools. History
In 1817 the Anglican Church Mission Society (CMS) approved the establishment of missions in Ceylon. On 20 December 1817 four clergymen – Joseph Knight, Samuel Lambrick, Robert Major and Benjamin Ward – and their wives left England and sailed to Ceylon on board the Vittoria. They arrived in late June 1818. Knight went to Jaffna, Lambrick went to Colombo, Major and his wife went to Galle and Ward and his wife to Trincomalee. Knight started his missionary work in 1818 in Nallur. The Nallur English Seminary was established in March 1823 by Knight. The school had only 7 students and was located in Knight's bungalow. In 1845 the school was relocated to Chundikuli and renamed the Chundikuli Seminary. In the same year the Church Mission Society took over the old Portuguese St. John the Baptist church. In 1846 the school moved into a hall next to the church. The church was demolished in 1859 and replaced by the current church. The school was renamed St. John's College in 1891. The free education system was introduced by the government in 1945 but SJC chose to remain outside the system. It is alleged that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam assassinated Anandarajan for organising a cricket match with the Sri Lankan military. Big Match

SJC plays Jaffna Central College in the annual cricket match known as the "Battle of the North''". The first match took place in 1904.

1823 1825 Rev. Joseph Knight
1825 1839 Rev. W. Adley
1839 1841 Rev. F. W. Taylor
1841 1846 Rev. I. T. Johnstone
1846 1866 Rev. R. Pargiter
1866 1874 Rev. T. Good
1874 1878 Rev. D. Wood
1878 1879 Rev. E. Blackmore
1879 1889 Rev. G. T. Fleming
1889 1892 Rev. C. C. Handy (Acting)
1892 1895 Rev. J. W. Fall
1895 1899 Rev. I. Carter
1899 1900 Rev. R. W. Ryde
1900 1919 Rev. Jacob Thomson
1919 Rev. K. C. Mc Pherson (Acting)
1920 1940 Rev. Henry Peto
1940 1957 Rev. J. T. Arulanantham
1957 1959 P. T. Mathai
1959 1966 A. W. Rajasekeram
1967 1976 K. Pooranampillai
1976 1985 C. E. Anandarajan
1985 1987 T. Gunaseelan
1987 K. Pooranampillai
1988 1993 Dr. E. S. Thevasagayam
1990 1993 S. Thanapalan (Acting)
1993 2006 S. Thanapalan
2006 2019 Rev. N. J. Gnanaponrajah
2019 Ven. Samuel J. Ponniah (Acting)
2020 V. S. B. Thuseetharan

Name Notability Reference Bishop of Jaffna (Church of South India) (1971–1993) Principal St. John's College, Jaffna (1976–1985) Principal St. John's College, Jaffna (1940–1957) Vice Chancellor Eastern University (1986–1996) Director of Irrigation, author Major general Chief of the Defence Staff (1992) Pro vice chancellor University of Bristol (2014–present) leader Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi/Tamil United Liberation Front, member parliament – Kankesanthurai (1947–1952, 1956–1977) Solicitor General (1950–1951) member parliament – Jaffna (1960–1965), Mayor of Jaffna (1970–1975) member parliament – National List (2004–2007) academic, human rights activist academic, professor electrical engineering musician, songwriter, record producer academic, professor signal & information processing Bishop of Jaffna (Church of South India) (1947–1970) Governor of Western Province (2015–present) member parliament – Colombo (2004–2008) acting Governor General (1954), acting Chief Justice (1954), Attorney General (1946–1947) Puisne Judge – Supreme Court of Belize (1985–1993), Chief Magistrate of Belize, Senior State Advocate of Zambia Gate Mudaliyar, President of the Jaffna Co operative Bank member parliament – Jaffna (2001–2006), Mayor of Jaffna (2001) Mayor of Jaffna (1949, 1952–1955) Permanent Secretary Ministry of Justice (1951–1955) member parliament – Medawachchiya (1947–1989), Governor of North Central Province (1994–1998) journalist, editor – Thinakaran (1961–1994) member parliament – Vavuniya (1947–1960) Supreme Court Judge (1960–1972) educationist vice chancellor University of Jaffna (1979–1988) member parliament – Jaffna (1977–1983)