In May 1880 Miss Hay came from England and the school, which had 10 on the roll at its inception, increased to 70 and was registered to obtain a grant-in-aid from the government.

As numbers increased, in 1881 the school shifted to the more commodious precincts of the Mission in Brownrigg Street, but boarders remained at Katukele.

Long desks and forms without backs and heavy pews from the church were moved weekly when classes had to take turns in writing.

Since its inception the school has represented the ethnic diversity of Sri Lanka, with its student body consisting of Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors, Malays, Burghers and Chinese.

[2] With the dawn of the 20th century, under the guidance of F. R. Sansom, who served for 19 years, Kandy High School became one of the leading educational institutions in Ceylon.

Calverly had a busy time cycling from one place to another and supervising the classes, so she invested in a scooter which made her day easier.

[11] The school has produced several notable netball players to national team such as Maheesha Bandara, Venuki Boyagoda, Faika Feroze and Yohani Nilupuli de Silva.