The school was founded by P. de S. Kularatne as an offshoot of Ananda College, Colombo, and was officially registered as a separate institution on 1 November 1925.

[6] In 1922, a section of Ananda College was moved to Campbell Place, Colombo, on a proposal made by Patrick de Silva Kularatne, a leading Buddhist educator.

5,500 to purchase a 0.10 ha (0.25 acres) of land close to the Campbell Place playground and built sixteen classrooms for the new school.

Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thera has selected this motto from the Anguttara Nikaya, Tika Nipatha, Bala Waggo Lakkana Sutta.

[33][34][35][36][37] In 2017, a student of the Research Forum won a silver medal for his research, "Deposition of air pollutants on pollen grains and occurrence of respiration allergies among humans at the International Conference of Young Scientists in Germany," where Sri Lanka participated for the first time at the event as a competitive country.

[38][39] Nalanda College, Colombo, presents various awards recognising student achievements in academics, sports, and extracurricular activities.

[40][41][42][43] Award recipients include: Kala Keerthi, Dr Henry Jayasena, President of Sri Lanka - Mahinda Rajapaksa, Diyawadana Nilame, Pradeep Nilanga Dela Bandara, Sri Lanka - Ranjana, Dr Sarath Gunapala, Professor Chandana Jayaratne, Kuppiyawatta Bodhananda Thera, Dr Gunadasa Amarasekara, Professor Pathmajeewa Ganepola,[49][50] Professor Pasidu sulakshana, Air Chief Marshal - Gagan Bulathsinghala, Air Chief Marshal - Kapila Jayampathy, Air Chief Marshal -Sumangala Dias.

Each year, the union organises many events such as Future Minds, Nalanda Walk, Olcott Memorial Old Boys' Cricket Tourney, Ranaviru Upahara, and more.