By Charanga Gamage and Lakdinu De Silva
“Studies are the number one priority, the cake itself. Everything else(sports,
clubs,etc) is the icing.”
- Contribution of studies to the enrichment of life.
In the 14th century the society of the world was divided into various social classes. In England there existed many social classes such as the nobility, freemen, peasants and serfs. The general rule in this feudal society was that the son follows in his fathers footsteps and learns his fathers trade. If his father was a king the son would learn to rule, a blacksmiths son would learn to work iron, a potters son will have to learn pottery. There were no crosslinks in this society which enabled a man to change the social class to which he was born. A man born a peasant will die a peasant.
However this all changed as the world progressed into the current society where one giant crosslink joined all of the social classes, this crosslink is education. In the present society if you are born poor it does not necessarily infer that you would die poor, nor will it infer that a rich birth would lead to a rich life. Therefore we cannot forget the fact that it is education that will define our lives and Royal College being an academic institution grants academics a priority over all other activities.
Although academics will help you to earn qualifications and establish a security and stability in your social life. Sports and society activities will enrich your life. Simply said academics will help you to get the job co-curricular and extracurricular activities will help you to do the job. However you must understand that in order to do the job you must first get the job. And for this you need academics. I cannot stress enough upon the importance of learning, as how well you learn will completely change your life. There are very few trees which yield a fruit sweeter than
the fruit of an enriched education.
2. How to set targets and goals.
“A goal properly set is halfway reached.”
a) Grade 6-10
- Stay after school and get involve in many clubs and sports as possible.
- Do not waste this valuable phase of time by attending too many tuition classes.
- Find your strengths and the things you are good at.
- Try to improve on your strengths.
b) G.C.E. Ordinary Level
- You must not give up your extracurricular activities.
- Need to keep in mind that OL is also an exam that makes a impact of your life.
- Have yourself enough time to study the OL syllabus.
c) G.C.E. Advanced Levels-
- The most important exam in your school life.
- Give priority to the exam.
- You need to have a clear vision of what to achieve in the exam to shape your future.
- Complete the syllabus within the first two years and do the past AL papers.
- Target which university would be ideal for you and work towards that.
“In all things that you do, consider the end.”
3. Awards and accolades for academic performance.
a) Prize Giving
The first prize-giving of Royal College has been held in the year 1836.
It is a tradition for the ruler of the country to be the chief guest for the occasion. There are one hundred and sixty-five prizes and awards handed out each year.
The most coveted prize at this event is the Dornhorst Memorial Prize , awarded since 1930 to the Most Outstanding Royalist each year, in the memory of Frederick Dornhorst, KC, followed by the Lalith Athulathmudali Memorial Prize for the Best Academic Achiever of the year. The Turnour prize is the oldest of the panel prizes, awarded continually from the year 1846 itself.
b) Scholarships
Many scholarships have been awarded for students who have performed
exceptionally well in their academic activities during their life at Royal College. These scholarships are awarded in the hope of assisting students to achieve their full potential. Some of these scholarships include.
- The English university scholarship
- Lorensz scholarship
- Cecil Perera memorial scholarship
- Peter de Abrew memorial scholarship
Personally we don’t feel that it is required to impress upon a Royalist the importance of academics or force him towards academics like dragging a cow to the butcher shop. It is something that you must know is required for a balanced life. A Royalist should be proficient in working with societies, performing in sports and engaging in academics. Academics was once a ladder to achieve heights, once a mechanism to generate wealth, but actually academics is nothing but the enrichment of life. Wealth, recognition and power are all byproducts.
Charanga and Lakdinu are Prefects of 2019/20, who were excellent students at their time. They got 3As for Biology and 2As 1B for Mathematics respectively at the A/L exam in 2019. What was most impressive was their excellent academic records since the primary and middle school years that show consistency. These were achieved amidst being heavily involved in sports, clubs and societies.