In November 1853, Felice Zoppi, a Franciscan from the Chinese Missionary, was sent to Kandy by Joseph Maria Bravi to look into an issue with regard to a school erected before 1853.

On 12 March 1854 Bravi sent a letter to Zoppi officially acknowledging the opening of both the schools, on the present premises of St. Anthony's Cathedral.

It was in 1857 when Hilderbrand Vanderstraaten became the principal the Sylvestro Benedictine legacy began to grow around the history of St. Anthony's school.

During his six years in office, he had the services of a few other Benedictine monks: Hildebrand Georgesz, Patrick McKelvie, Dominic Direckze and Father Ryan.

In 1894, the premises known as "Philips Coffee Store", now a part of St. Sylvester's College was purchased by Abbot Pancrazi for the school.

In November 1915, at the close of Basil Hyde's tenure, James, the brother of Philip Caspersz, was appointed principal.

William Gopallawa, the last Governor General of Ceylon and first President of Sri Lanka, is among the school's alumni.

In 1927 Bishop Bede Beeckmeyer, an old boy, purchased the old Dunuwille Walauwa, the present premises of the college.

The classes were housed in a shed made of coconut pillars, mango rafters, corrugated iron roof and wattle-and-daub dwarf walls.

When the military released the buildings and the playing field around 1946, one of the first innovations conceived by Theophane Wickramaratne, who led the return of the boys to the premises, was the adoption of a cottage system for hostel accommodation.

Wickramaratne was involved in the construction of other College buildings such as "The Rainbow Cottages", "The Tuck Shop", "The Chapel", "Mansion", "Villa", "Infirmary" and "The Refectory".

Living in small groups, in separate cottages had not only provided a homey atmosphere, but also promoted greater fellowship and understanding.

Rosati reconditioned several military huts into living quarters for the boarders and appointed school matrons to be in charge of the physical cleanliness of the boys and the sanitary features of each hostel block.

This change had been so effectual in the achievement of greater performance both in work and play and led to a reduction of illness among the boarders.

It was blessed by Bernard Regno, O.S.B., Bishop of Kandy and declared open by Governor General Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke, C.M.E., on 5 September 1957.

The hostel was run independently of the school, by the Benedictine Fathers, who also had the income generating sections – the hall, the swimming pool and the tuck shop – under their jurisdiction.

In 1982, the Colombo branch of the OBA undertook to develop an Indoor Sports and Pavilion Complex at the Katugastota grounds.

The first stage consisting of a gymnasium, badminton and table tennis courts was finally completed in 1991 with the help of funds collected by the OBA and Fr.

A total sum of around 4 million rupees was raised through donations from parents, OBAs, well wishers, and from fund-raisers in Colombo and a carnival in Kandy.

This effort enabled the building to take a shell-shape within a period of four months and was opened by Abraham in March 1993 to commemorate the 75th year of Jack Anderson's unbroken record of 291 runs in a school match against S. Thomas' College, Mt.

In 1989, Abraham celebrated his Sacerdotal Silver Jubilee (25 years of Priesthood) by building 25 houses for the minor staff naming the complex "Anthony Gammana", which is a model-housing scheme.

The Primary section too received a new block of four classrooms and a computer laboratory in 2002 with financial assistance from the Central Provincial Ministry.

The Old Boys Association (SACKOBA),[clarification needed] with Branches in Colombo, Nuwara Eliya, Australia, Canada and England, have provided financial support to the college.

There is a "SACKOBA BALL", a dinner-dance organized by the Colombo Branch, to raise funds for its supportive activities each year.

Anthony's College Cricket Club' consisting of staff and school boys was formed under the Captaincy of Fr.

[citation needed] One of St. Anthony's notable rivals is another prestigious Catholic boys' school St. Joseph's College, Colombo and they compete for the "Murali-Vaas Trophy", which was inaugurated in 2007 and named after St. Anthony's alumnus Muttiah Muralitharan and St. Joseph's alumnus Chaminda Vaas.