1920

In 1920 then Parish Priest of St. Anne’s Church Rev Fr. Charles Croctaine thought to build a school to give a sound education for the children in the area.

Mr. R. A. De Alwis a well-known philanthropist in Wattala built a school building in Aweriyawatta area from his own expense which enabled Rev. Fr. to accomplish his wish.

The day, 20th of April in 1920 was a significant day for the whole Wattala area. It was the day that Mr. R. A. De Alwis handed over the new school building to the Parish Priest Rev Fr. Charles Croctaine. Rev. Fr. then named the school after St. Anne and welcomed the Sisters of Good Shepherd Congregation to be in charge of the new school and lead the administration of the school. Thus the school became St. Anne’s English School which brightened the area shedding her light throughout.

Hence the school was established with Rev. Sr. Mary Bertha as the principal and three other sisters. The school was named after the great grandmother of Jesus Christ, St. Anne.

The school became St. Anne’s English School which brightened the area shedding her light throughout.

Even though the school was established for the girls to be educated in English Medium, the boys were also fortunate to study in grade one and two. Therefore at the beginning 3 boys and 10 girls were enrolled to be educated in this school.

Three of the boys who were educated in this school were fortunate to become priests later. They were Rev. Frs. Vincent Deph, Lucian Deph and Alex Ranasinghe.

1924

In 1924 Rev. Sr. Mary Bertha was transferred and Miss Elaine Lorage took over the charge of the school and became the first layperson to become the Principal of the school.

1928

The school was registered as the government funded school during Miss Elaine Lorage‘s term as the principal in 1928.

1931

 In 1931 a new era begins with Rev. Sr. Mary Felicitas as the new principal.

1932

Rev. Sr. Mary Angel became the principal and the school which was formally established as an English medium school initiated to educate the students in Sinhala medium as well.

The lessons were conducted in both mediums English medium in the morning and Sinhala medium in the evening.

1935

By 1935 the student population was risen to 100 with 5 teachers.

1940

In 1940 Rev. Sr. Mary Angels was transferred and Rev. Sr. Mary Adrienne assumed duties as the new principal.

1941

In 1941 the school was raised to a Junior Secondary status during her time as the result of the great effort made by then General Manager of Catholic schools in Colombo diocese Rev. Fr. D. J. Anthony.

1943

It is in 1943 the school established a system of houses. The three houses were named as
Regina Caeli, Mari Stella, and Mater Admirabilis.

The student of grade 6 upwards were divided among those houses and appreciated for their achievements in various domains.

1945

In 1945 with the approval of the home science examiner Miss Weastrop the school forms its home Science Section.

The school marked a significant breakthrough in 1945 as it became a senior secondary school which also took place in the time of Rev. Sr. Mary Adrienne.

1949

In 1949 Rev. Sr. Mary Good Shepherd became the principal and in the same year the houses were reformed and established as Andrew, Anthony, Chantal and Pascal and recognized the different accomplishments of the students.

1951

In 1951 the students of the school staged a ballet called Fatima to enhance their sense of arts.

1953

In 1953 bringing fame to school, the students of St Anne’s marched in the parade of the celebration hosted to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.

1955

Rev. Sr. Mary Good Shepherd retired and Rev. Sr. Mary Eugene became the principal .

This was the year the school initiated the studies in Commerce stream. The Advanced Level studies in Arts steam was also commenced in this year.

The buildings for this purpose were constructed along with a home science room and a science laboratory.

1961

In the year 1961 under the government decision to acquire the catholic schools under the government administration St. Anne’s also became a government school.

1965

The Girl Guides Company was registered under Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association on 22nd November.

1968

In 1968 the aesthetic section of the school  staged a another ballet Hathpethi Mala adopted from a Russian Folk Tale which was performed at the Lionel Wendt theater and many other well-known theaters in several instances.

1969

Both Western & Eastern Bands were formed in 1969 and they became district first in the same year.

During this period the school saw a progress in the co-curricular and extracurricular activities as well. The school Netball team was formed during this period and they became the district champions in the same year.

1971

In 1971 St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Girls School was merged to the school.

As the student population was increasing in that year the Sacred Heart Convent which was the dormitory of the Good Shepherded sisters was donated by those sisters to the school. The school again held another stage drama to raise fund for the construction of the new convent for those sisters.

1973

In 1973 both Western and Eastern bands were able to win the first places in the interschool band displays.

In 1973 Rev. Sr. Mary of the Angels became the principal.

1976

The bands of St Anne’s Balika was selected to perform in the Non-Aligned Summit, Colombo in 1976.

1977

Mrs. M. L. J. Ferdinandes became the principal of the school and she was the second layperson to become the principal of St. Anne’s.

Construction of a new three storey building for the secondary school and a two storey building for the primary section was began in this year.

1978

Sinhala School Anthem was created in this year. The lyrics was written by a former teacher Ms. Sriya Fernando and the melody was composed by veteran musician Mr. Shelton Premaratne.

The houses were renamed as St. Mary, St. Agnes, St Theresa and St. Cecilia and are existing up to date.

1978 was a significant year in the history of St. Anne’s as it became the best girl’s school in Gampaha district.

Out of 17 students who sat in the Advanced Level Examination 15 students passed and three students were selected to the university for the first time in the history.

Furthermore, the primary section of the school got the first place in the grade five scholarship examination among the schools in Wattala division.

The western band won the first place in the school band display competition in Gampaha district in that year.

1982

Mr. Hiran Solangarachchi led off to prepare students for the Advanced Level Examination in the Science Stream and four students succeeded in entering the Medical College.

1983

In 1983 Mrs. Mary Perera initiated to start the advanced level studies in Agriculture stream in the school for the first time and Ms. M.D.F.S. Mallika resumed the studies in the Commerce Stream and then onwards the students of the Commerce Studies were selected to university each year.

1984

Then principal Ms. M.L.J. Ferdinandes was able to secure the school land by taking legal actions to solve the dispute regarding a footpath which ran through the school premises.

1986

1986 marked another significant achievement in the history of the school as it won the first place in the advanced level results in Gampaha district. From 1986 to 1988, Annites won admission to universities from all streams of A/Ls.

1987

The Annites led by Mrs. Nemali Amarasinghe were also able to win the music and dancing competition conducted in the Gam Udava Programme in 1987. From 1986 to 1990, Annites were able to win first place in various categories from the All Island Inter School Dance and Ballet Competitions Under her guidance.

1991

In 1991 Samanthi Kannangara won the first place in the SARRC Quiz Competition. 

The primary section of the school was established as an independent school and the secondary school has been called St. Anne’s Balika Maha Vidyalaya from this year onwards.

1993

In 1993 an exhibition called “Nipunatha” was held in order to showcase the talents of the student of the school.

1999

In 1999 Mrs. M. L. J. Ferdinandes who had been the principal of the school for a long tenure retired from her post and Rev. Sr. Mary Rita Fernando assumed duties as the Principal.

2001

During the period of Rev. Sr. Mary Rita Fernando’s administration, in 2001 construction of another three storey building was started. Establishment of a new lighting system for the school main hall and the school Computer section were also done under her administration.

2004

The year 2004 marked the beginning of another golden era of the history of the school and the school which was led by the Good Shepherd sisters was passed over to a sister of Dominican congregation. The present principal
Rev. Sr. Kanthi Perera took over the leadership of the school.

With the administration of the present principal a significant changes have been taken place. The completion of the construction of the new three storey building which was being done then and naming it as St. Rose of Lima, the renovation of the home science building, Science Laboratory and the library were done under her guidance.