January 18th 2023 is a day that no Peterite will ever forget. After 2 long years of inactivity, the annual Prize Giving of St. Peter’s College was held from 3.00 pm onwards on this enthralling day. This memorable occasion was graced by Rt. Rev. Dr P. Anton Ranjith the auxiliary Bishop of Colombo.
This Prize giving recognized students who excelled in the 2019 and 2020 Scholarship, GCE Ordinary Level and GCE Advanced Level exams. Historically this was the 89th Annual Prize Giving and taking place in the Centenary year, this Prize giving was that much more special. In this significant year, St. Peter’s College celebrated another milestone of achievement as the 2020 GCE Ordinary Level batch produced the best results with the most number of 9As College has seen in the past 100 years.
This year’s prize giving, like others before, was made glamorous by the students who clinched the most honourable awards of them all. Among them the Bernard Jesuthasan Memorial Shield for the best all round student truly stands out as it portrays not only academic excellence but also brilliance in the sporting arena, for the year 2020 Mast. Randev Athukorala an internationally acclaimed Karate player who captained the Sri Lanka national team as well received 3As in the GCE advanced level exam claimed this eminent title. For the year 2021 Mast. Ovindu Atukorala, a Peterite who needs no introduction, claiming some of the most highly acclaimed titles that St. Peter’s College has to offer was bestowed this honour.
The one trophy everyone aspires to win but is so exclusive that only one Peterite receives this special recognition every year. The greatest honour a Peterite can receive in his school life, The hugely acclaimed “Peterite Gold”. Awarded for Academic excellence, remarkable conduct, leadership, outstanding services and loyalty to College. For the year 2020 this award was not presented to any student, however in the year 2021 Master Pramesh Cooray and Master Ovindu Atukorala were bestowed this honour. Mast. Pramesh Cooray was the swimming captain and a scholar who received 3 As in the GCE advanced level exam, displaying true leadership and excellence in academics. Mast.Ovindu Atukorala was the head Prefect of St. Peter’s College as well as a board bearer in many clubs and associations, on top of all that he was a colours man for football and an internationally acclaimed chess player. He passed his AL with flying colours obtaining a rank of 25th in the Colombo District and 69th in the Island in the Maths stream.
St. Peter’s College is indeed fortunate to be blessed with some of the, if not the most brilliant all round students in this nation the Prize Giving was cemented proof of the much renowned ” Peterite Excellence “. Among the many names of the prize winners one name stands out compared to all others , the name Ovindu Atukorala was repeated for a total of 6 times, including awards for the best all round student, Peterite Gold and Head Prefect which is no easy task at the high standard that the College Prize giving is placed at. The hall of St. Peter’s College was packed to the very brink with over 900 spectators present to witness this grand event live and over 3000 individuals who were tuned in virtually via the live stream done by the Peterite media.