Inspired by Guru Dev Rabindranath Tagore an Indian writer, artist and educationist, and his university at Shanthi Niketan later called Visva Bharathi University, Wilmot Abraham Perera, a revolutionary educationist and a politician of Sri Lanka, decided to establish a similar institution in Ceylon, and invited Gurudev Tagore to lay the foundation stone for the institution, which Tagore named Sri Palee (place where the goddess of fine arts lives).

The founder of Sri Palee College, Wilmot Abraham Perera, was a proprietor planter.

He thought of studying archaeology, but after his father's demise he was compelled to look after his properties and became a planter.

He became a successful planter and married Esme Perera Abeywardena, a lady from a wealthy family in Galle, and a grand daughter of Sir Charles Henry de Soysa.

To find solutions for those problems he established for the first time a rural development society in Raigam Korale.

As a leftist, Perera was involved in the "Suriyamal" movement during the World War II period and later became a Member of Parliament for the Matugama electorate at the 1st general election in 1947.

In this Perahera four pupils walk in a row, singing the school anthem.