The Clubs and Societies Felicitation Ceremony which is commonly known as the “Clubs’ Night” took to stage for the 8th consecutive time on the 5th of December 2017 purely focused on the majestic name that is ‘Royal’.

Hon. Dr. Harsha De Silva Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs graced the occasion as the Chief Guest while Mr. Dulith Herath the founding chairman of kapruka.com graced as the Guest of Honour for the evening.

The Clubs Night was initiated in the year 2010 by the Prefects’ Council of 2009/2010, to recognize the sacrifice and tireless efforts of the students of Royal College engaged in co- curricular activities. The eighth venture of the finale, The Clubs and Societies Felicitation Ceremony 2017 was organized by the Prefects’ Council 2016/2017.

The Chief Guest and other honoured dignitaries were warmly welcomed to the Navarangahala premises with the commanding presence of the College cadet band and through the majestic walk of fame courtesy of the Prefects’ Council 2016/2017. The event commenced with the College choir singing the College song which simply changed the atmosphere inside the
Navarangahala. This was followed by an opening act by the Oriental Music Society setting the mood for the evening. It was hosted by none other than the Deputy Head Prefect of Clubs and Societies, Daham Gunawardana.

The Principal, Mr. B.A. Abeyrathna welcomed the gathering, mentioning the important role Clubs and Societies play in moulding great leaders out of students and appreciated the hard work and commitment shown throughout the year and also reminded that there is no cast, creed or religion at Royal College and these students will be getting Felicitation solely based on what they did for College and the community.

Following this the Clubs and Societies presented the numerous awards they had received during the past year to the Principal. Subsequently, the C and B grade clubs and societies were presented with their awards.

Following this was an anticipated moment where the Chief Guest for the evening Hon.Dr. Harsha De Silva addressed the gathering. Honourable minister commended the Prefects’ Council for putting together one of the most mesmerising Felicitations he has ever seen. At the same time he told the gathering the reason for this success that we see before our eyes is the unity inside Royal College. Following all the inspiring words and nervous moments with the Felicitation, the Sinhala Dancing Society added their own touch with a soul shaking percussion performance.

Prior to the awarding of special awards the Guest of Honour, Mr. Dulith Herath took to the stage to address the gathering beginning his speech with an interesting story about his college life. He spoke about how Royal College moulded and inspired him to open kapruka.com from ground up. He also stated that during his time there were no Felicitations like this and how fortunate the current generation is to have such Ceremonies to be inspired.

Following the much awaited A grade, Special Project Awards and International Representation (see below) was a segment filled with much emotion. The event was brought to a close with the night’s host, Deputy Head Prefect Daham Gunawardana reminding the officials and members of the Clubs and Societies that receiving an award was simply a “pat on the back” to do better and that not receiving an award was a reminder of the challenges that lay ahead of them. He also reminded the esteemed gathering that there was another reason behind the Clubs & Societies Felicitation Ceremony. After seeing a touching video display it was clear to everyone that this is the farewell of the Royal College Prefects’ Council 2016/2017. As the emotions started to set in the Deputy Head Prefect left the stage giving the spot light in his words “to that one person who deserves to be on this stage right now” as the Incumbent Head Prefect of Royal College, Dinuka De Zoysa made his final address, where he made a historic statement, “you can break down these buildings, you can burn everything to the ground, you can take everything away, but the one thing you can never take away is the true spirit of a Royalist.” The address concluded with a standing ovation from everyone who was there for that special moment.

The following clubs received the honour of being adjudged as ‘A’ Grade institutions for an excellent job done within the past 12 months, in order to help and uplift the standards of their club, school and society at large.

1. Red Cross Society
2. Interact Club
3. Social Services League
4. Tamil Dramatic Society
5. Tamil Karnatic Music Society
6. Non addict movement
7. General Knowledge Club
8. Sinhala Drama Society

The following clubs were felicitated under these special project avenues:

1. Best Aesthetic Project: Tamil Dramatic Society (All Island Inter School Drama Competition)
2. Best Educator Project: Agriculture Society (Agro Royal Exhibition)
3. Best Innovative Project: Mother Sri Lanka Society (+5C Card)
4. Best Publicity Project: Tamil Karnatic Music Society (‘Rudhram’ 2017)
5. Best Publication: Tamil Literary Association (‘Tamil Nayam’ Souvenir)
6. Best Zoning Project: Social Services League(Hostel Music Room renovations)
7. Best Finance Project: Interact Club (Drama Comp)
8. Best Community Service Project: Interact Club(SURGE)

As an initiative taken by the Royal College Prefects’ Council 2016 the
following Clubs were felicitated with the international representation award for
representing College at the Global arena.

English Debaters’ Council

• Asian World Schools’ Debating Championship

– The placing 18th and being the only school team to place in the top 20.
– The C team placing 4th in the Novice Category

• World Schools’ Debating Championship.

– Shalem Sumanthiran representing the Sri Lanka Schools National Team in
2017 which broke in to the Octo Finals.

Scrabble Club

• Astar Scrabble Championship
Held at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lampur with over 300 participants.
Played under 4 divisions

Under 15 category
1st Place – Janul De Silva
4th Place – Qays Sangani
5th Place – Aabid Ismail

• World English Scrabble Players’ Association Championship 2017
Held at Nairobi, Kenya. This is the main scrabble event of the year, a clash
between the best players world wide.
65th Place – Janul De Silva

Western Music Society

• Asian Pacific Choir Games Competition.

-Gold Medalist and level 2 Gold Diploma holders in the open youth category.

Photo Albums
– Media Unit
– Photographic Society