Chief Guest at the event, Ms. Malika B Samaraweera, Director National Council for Economic Development (NCED), lights the Oil Lamp.

“I thank John Keells Foundation for giving a chance for us to improve our English language skills with the help of Gateway Language Centre”, said Imasha Samarasinghe of Ratnapura, one of the 1,200 scholarship recipients under the John Keells English Language Scholarship Programme in 2012/13. “This helped me to make friends from different schools and also learn in a relaxed environment. By practicing for the drama, we learned to work in a team and the value of team effort. So, thank you for this day and investing in our future. I hope you will continue to educate children across the country.”

Imasha shared her impressions at John Keells English Day 2013 held on 12th August 2013 at the Bishop’s College Auditorium, Colombo 03. This annual event organized by John Keells Foundation is aimed at showcasing the learnings and talents of the John Keells English scholars of the outgoing financial year whilst building their self-confidence and enabling interaction with students from various parts of the country.

Chief Guest at the event, Ms. Malika B Samaraweera, Director National Council for Economic Development (NCED), Ministry of Finance and Planning, expressed her sense of “deep appreciation and admiration for the work that John Keells Foundation is doing towards the society and the country.” She urged the students to take forward the knowledge gained and “engage in English Language improvement activities which will systematically open your eyes to higher learning and the great outer world”.

A notable feature introduced by English Day 2013 was to structure the performances as a competition which was carried out in two tiers. The first tier was at district level from which 10 Districts were selected and the second tier was the grand finale on the 12th of August where the finalists performed in front of a panel of judges, the scholars’ peers, parents and teachers as well as invitees. The competition was judged by three distinguished young personalities in English theatre: Shashi Mendis, Shanuki De Alwis and Surein De S Wijeyeratne. The ten finalists were Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Ratnapura, Vavuniya, Galle, Colombo, Ampara–Mangalagama, Bandarawela, Panadura and Nelliady branches. Most centres performed from selected scripts while the Colombo branch ventured into the Open category and staged a Parliamentary Debate on the topic of education. All the items were judged on time management, usage of English and pronunciation, interpretation and characterization, presentation and creativity.

““It was heartening to see so many different students from all parts of the country on stage”, said Surein De S Wijeyeratne, who spoke on behalf of the judges. “We need to unanimously commend all the teachers, the principals and the language teachers that have been involved in bringing students on what has obviously been a long and arduous journey. There were a number of performances that we would like to commend……. It was very difficult to compare and pick one from amongst them.”

First place was awarded to the Trincomalee Branch, while second and third places were awarded to Bandarawela and Nelliady respectively. Kumudan Paramadan from the Trincomalee branch received the award for best performer for his portrayal of Meyoka in “The Stone Soup”.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Nadija Tambiah, Head of CSR John Keells Holdings, expressed her joy at the impact of the John Keells English Language Scholarship Programme. “Being such a large stakeholder in Sri Lanka, John Keells is very strongly invested in the development and progress of Sri Lanka on many fronts. A key to this is the empowerment and education of our children – specifically, gearing them to making them more productive people with the skill-sets that are required to meet the needs of the future. We believe that a corner-stone of these skill-sets is English language and communication skills”.

The English Language Scholarship Programme is the flagship initiative under the Education focus area of John Keells Foundation. Its current focus is “English for Teens” comprising foundation and pre-intermediate level courses. Under the foundation-level programme targeting school children aged 12 to 14 years, a total of 1000 scholarships were on offer in 2012/13 in 20 locations within 18 Districts, namely: Ampara (2 locations), Bandarawela, Batticaloa, Chavakachcheri, Colombo (2 locations), Galle, Habarana, Jaffna, Kandy, Kurunegala, Matale, Matara, Negombo, Nelliady, Panadura, Ratnapura, Trincomalee and Vavuniya. An aggregate of 829 school children completed the course recording a minimum attendance of 80%. Meanwhile, a total of 200 pre-intermediate level scholarships were offered to high performers under the foundation-level programme of 2011/12. This course was conducted in 8 Districts – namely Ampara, Bandarawela, Battiacaloa, Colombo, Kurunegala, Jaffna, Matara and Negombo – with 183 students completing the course with the requisite minimum attendance.

“I consider it a privilege to be associated with John Keells Foundation’s English Language Scholarship Programme from its very inception since 2004”, said Dr. Harsha Alles, Director, Gateway Group. “Many years ago, John Keells saw a group of young people in the country who were unable to participate in life because they were deprived of one thing: That was English. They felt that English for Teens was the cure for those teenagers who felt disadvantaged and frustrated. This English Day showcases the talents of such children who, I am sure, feel that they are reborn”.

Over the years, the Programme, owned and managed by John Keells Foundation and implemented through Gateway Language Centres island-wide, has sponsored a range of scholarships touching the lives of over 6700 individuals in various parts of the country. In 2013/14, a total of 1,300 scholarships are on offer, featuring the addition of 100 scholarships for the intermediate level programme.

A Student Impression at the Function – Kishona Anand – Batticaloa Branch	Batticaloa Branch performing “The Promise”
Performance of Colombo Branch	Performance by Galle Branch
Performance By Negombo Branch	Overall Best Performer Character Oscar from Ampara Branch
Performance by Trincomalee Branch	Vote of Thanks by Scholarship students
Welcoming the Chief Guest Mrs. Indrani Sugathadasa