Royal College, prides itself with being the pioneer of educational institutions in Sri Lanka. Through 185 years of its success it has always consistently maintained the necessity of creating all rounded students, capable of not just good academics, but also, ones who are possessive of the necessary qualities required to be successful civilians once they leave school. Partaking in Clubs’ and Societies is one way a student can achieve these said qualities. Being in a club or society not only gives you professional skills such as organizing skills, and leadership skills; it also develops skills in you that are important for you on a personal level such as reasoning skills, and financial literacy.

Royal College has 49 Clubs’ or Societies divided into 10 avenues that provide students the freedom of selecting the club or society that would fit them best. These avenues are Religion, Language, Hobbies, Education, Aesthetic, Community service, Media, Technology, Representation, and Environment.

On the 13th and 14th of January 2020, students of grade 6-10 filled into the Royal College MAS Arena for the first project of the Clubs’ and Societies calendar “Open Day 2020”. Normally renowned for its extravagant boxing matches, this time the Arena was filled with stalls showcasing the 49 active clubs’ and societies of Royal College.
The Clubs’ and Societies Open day was first organized in 2018, spearheaded by, the then Deputy Head Prefect in charge of Clubs’ and Societies- Dylan Wijesuriya. Incidentally, 2018 was the year which a majority of the Royal College Prefects council 2019/20 were either chairmen or secretaries of clubs’ or societies. We were the first batch of students to experience first-hand, the benefits of an event of the sort. However, back then the Open Day was nothing more than a bunch of representatives sitting behind some desks, trying to speak loud enough to prove that joining their club was worth it. This time many who took part in the 3rd Clubs’ and Societies Open day would agree that this year we saw marked improvements: not only in the standard of open day itself, But also, how the clubs and societies presented themselves.

For the first time, the MAS Arena was partitioned to manage space better. Thus, not only was it a lot easier for visitors to select and choose what clubs they wanted to join, but it also prevented any clubs’ or societies from being missed. It also made it easier for clubs and societies to address their potential recruits and collect their information.
The stalls of individual clubs’ and societies were decorated with banners and items/ media that showcased what made them special. Thus the open day saw showcases ranging from Robotic tracks to Dramatic excerpts, proving to be nothing short of an immersive experience to just about any onlooker student or not.

What we, as a clubs’ committee expected out of organizing this event was limited to providing clubs’ and societies a better member base. But on completion what we understood is that this event exceeded our expectations, being a lot more than what we bought into. Clubs reaped a vast array of benefits ranging from member base to presentation skills, to problem solving skills and to maintaining professionalism; all which they encountered through the course of these two days.

The concept of an open day has massive reach. In terms of scale, and quality. Only time will tell as wee witness this event grow to greater standards in the future years to come.