It is a Buddhist school with approximately 90 teaching staff and 1,500 students.

The school was established on 3 January 1946, with four teachers and 55 students, under the name of Wallahagoda Central College.

It was started in a Buddhist temple, Niyangampaya Raja Maha Viharaya.

In 1951, the foundation was laid by Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake for a new building, which opened in 1954 to house the college, which was renamed Gampola Central College.

In 1960, with the change of government, the Minister of Education reformed the education system, leading Gampola Central College to become a boys-only school, under the new name Wickramabahu Central College.