Wesley College, Colombo

Wesley College, Colombo, popularly known as "Wesley" or "The Double Blues" is a leading school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka. Wesley College is a Methodist educational institution. In 1858, Rev. Joseph Rippon wanted to establish a superior educational institution for the Wesleyan Methodist Mission in South Ceylon.[citation needed] On 2 March 1874 (the death anniversary of Rev. John Wesley) Wesley College was founded in the City Mission buildings at Dam Street, Pettah. Wesley’s first principal was Rev. Samuel R. Wilkin and the first vice-principal was Rev. D. Henry Pereira. Many years later, under the guiding hand of Rev. Henry Highfield, Wesley was moved from Dam Street, Pettah to its current residence at Karlsruhe Gardens, Borella in 1907. The Methodist institution was envisaged to be a distinctly Christian college, however it currently provides secondary education for over three thousand Sri Lankan students from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds.[citation needed] Wesley College has since established two branches to accommodate its growing number of students. One branch is situated in Havelock Town, Colombo while the other is in Thampola, Katunayake. Wesley College is named after John Wesley (1703–1791), the founder of the Methodist Church.