The year 1925 started auspiciously enough for St.John's. The results of the Cambridge Senior revealed that 13 passed, 1 with Honours and 6 exempted from the London Matric. In the Junior Cambridge examination, 25 passed, 6 in the Honours list with 6 distinctions. The Ceylon Independent referring to the Juniors states "It is St. John's that challenges most attention in this division, where the Northern institution leaves all outstation Colleges well behind"

It is as well to know who the teachers were during this period. It is well known that Mr. Peto knew a good man when he saw one and some of his recruits to the staff were Mr. K. Nesiah, Mr. J. C. Handy, Mr. J. T. Arulanantham, Mr. S. J. Gunasegaram, Mr. P. T. Mathai, Mr. T.M. Mathai, Mr.V. C. Canagaratnam, Mr. A. S. Abraham and Mr. E. M. Ponnudurai among others. They were a galaxy of bright stars whom any school would have been proud to call their own. Their influence can be felt when one goes through the College Magazines of those times. The articles show the grasp and love of English Literature and Poetry and the arts. In fact the Editor of the July, 1926 magazine is constrained to write, "The muse of Poetry has found many an ardent devotee at St. John's College, with the inevitable result that the Editor's desk is often flooded with poetic effusion both in English as well as in Tamil!" Mention should also be made of the staging of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" which was acted before a large and critical audience and was such a tremendous success that it had to be staged again the next day! "I congratulate you all" wrote Mr. F. A. Smith the G. A., Jaffna under whose patronage the play was staged, "on this performance. It was really wonderfully good. Apart from the feat of memory, the articulation and expression put. into the speeches were really first class so was the staging".

The year 1925 is remembered for the visit to the College of Bishop Mark Carpenter Garnier and the arrival of Rev. R. H. Whelan (and Mrs. Whelan ) as Dean of the College, from Ireland. The annual report of the St. John's College Christian Union was submitted to the Bishop during his visit and Rev. Whelan was welcomed as a Vice President of the Union. At the Triennial Conference Of the Student Christian Association of India, Burma and Ceylon, the St. John's College, Christian Union was represented by 3 members of the staff and two student delegates.

The development of body, mind and spirit which was insisted upon by the Principal is shown in the various activities that were open to a student at St. John's. Besides the Cadets, the Boy Scouts and Wolf Cubs wore given a good training. In addition to the Christian Union, there was a Social Service Union and the Literary Associations divided into Senior and Junior Sections. Members of the staff also took part in the, debates of the Senior Literary Association and with veritable giants of English like S. J.Gunasegaram, V. C. Canagaratnam and P. T. Mathai, several interesting debates took place. Some of the interesting debates that took place were on "Study of Literature is more useful to a student than Science", "Ceylon should encourage Agriculture more than Education", and "Commercial enterprise tends more to war than peace."

History was created when ladies took part in a debate in the College the subject being "Women are fit to be given franchise in Ceylon". Miss Hutchins, the well known missionary, led the debate for the ladies.

Extempore debates and speeches helped to give confidence to boys in the art of public speaking.

Even though 1925 was an year of progress for St. John's in most activities, in sports nothing significant was achieved. This was wholly due to the fact that the Cricket and Athletic Championship tournaments did n take place. There is more than a hint of a suggestion that these were not held because some schools felt that one school was dominating the sports arena and participation was meaningless to them

The Principal, Mr. Peto who had received Holy Orders during his furlough, was given a rousing welcome home on his return in 1926. His return coincided with the resumption of the Cricket and Athletic Tournaments, as may be expected. Rev. Peto in a brief reference to the revival of the contests states, "At St John's we strongly up-hold the importance of the League having a continuous existence. We do believe that it is a means of maintaining a high standard in the science of the game or sport, it should be the means of developing and increasing the best sprit of friendly rivalry and sportsmanship between the Colleges".

The College was honoured by the visit of His Excellency, Sir Hugh Clifford, the Governor of Ceylon, on the 11th of June 1926. The Cadets, Scouts and Cubs were in attendance and Sir Clifford congratulated them on their smart turnout.

The most significant event in 1926 was the running of a night school for the socially less privileged persons living in a particular area of the town, by the St John's College Social Service Union. They had engaged the services of a teacher paid out of Union funds and helped by two members of the union, held classes in one of the houses lent to them, for about 40. Coming at a time when national consciousness was being awakened in this part of the world, this must have appeared as the ushering in of a social revolution. The Principal in his College notes refers to this as follows, "One of the chief events, if not the chief event of last term was the opening of our new Night School for them. If this means, as we hope and pray it will, the opening of the eyes of present and future Johnians to the circumstances and conditions surrounding those upon whose manual work we who live in so much better conditions, so largely depend for our comfort - if it means that Johnians 'shall realise that these less fortunate folk are men and brothers, and are to be treated as such - then the simple opening ceremony of 24th March, 1926 will rank as one of the great dates in the history of the College". Johnians can justly be proud that they have contributed their mite to the improvement and welfare of these people and had pioneered the movement that has now resulted in removing many inequalities and prejudices.

With the resumption of the Cricket of numbers, the school roll being about Championship in 1926, the St. John's XI won it for a record fifth time in succession winning all their matches with case. The Cadets were placed 2nd for the Herman Loos Cup at Diyatalawa among the leading schools in Ceylon. These were fitting ways to bid good-bye to Mr. A. S. Abraham who left the Staff to join the Labour Department. He was largely responsible for the training of the victorious Cricket Elevens and the successful Cadet Platoons. Rev. & Mrs. R.H. Whelan wore two others who left the College at the end of 1926.

The years 1927 & 28 were marked by steadiness rather than brilliance in the academic sphere and sports arena. In 1926, 10 boys passed the Senior Cambridge, 3 in the Honours list with 1 distinction, while in the Junior Cambridge Examination 13 Candidates were successful, 2 in the Honours list with 2 distinctions. In 1928, 12 passed the Senior Examination with 1 in the Honours list while 17 boys passed the Junior Examination.

The Old Boys did better in their studies, and in 1926, an Old Boy won a scholarship and another an Arts Exhibition at the University College. In 1927, Mr. G. R. Handy, an Old Boy, was placed first in the Final Examination in the Ceylon Medical College. The Old Boys news acclaiming his feat, further states that Mr. Handy had been placed first in every professional examination in his medical college career, winning several medals. In 1929, Mr. G. D. Somasundaram was awarded the Government University Scholarship in Engineering to U. K.

In 1927 on the sports field, a new experiment was tried, dividing the school into 8 houses - Knight, Pargiter, Adley, Johnstone, Williams, Evarts, Handy and Thompson. But due to the inadequacy of numbers, the school roll being about 500, this experiment was done away with, in 1929, and the old system of 4 houses was restored. The football team in 1928, though unbeaten, ended as runners up. The Cricket team did not achieve anything outstanding during this period, though in 1928 they handed out the most comprehensive defeat to their traditional rival, Jaffna Central, trouncing them to the tune of an innings and 224 runs defeat. St. John's under the captaincy of J. R. Gnanapragasam, scored the total of 303 for 9 dec. and dismissed Jaffna Central for 20 & 59 The record for the total was eclipsed in 1982, but the record margin of victory remains, and will remain for a long time.

Another noteworthy performance in 1928 was that of the Art Master and his students who won for the College the unusual distinction of a three-fold certificate of merit in Object, Nature and Memory Drawing at the Colombo Art Exhibition.

Two distinguished visitors came to the College during this period. Rev. Carter who had been Principal (1895-99) made a nostalgic visit to St. John's in 1928.

In November, 1927, the College welcomed Mahathma Gandhi in the Robert William's Hall. 'l'his was at a time when Gandhi was organising the "Swaraj" movement by peaceful means. Mr. K. Nesiah, the epitome of national aspirations, took a leading part during this historic visit. It may be pertinent to quote Gandhiji's advice to a deputation of the All Bengal Teachers' Association on another occasion ',I believe in the ancient idea of teachers teaching for the love of it and receiving the barest maintenance. The Roman Catholics have retained that idea and they are responsible for some of the best educational institutions in the world. The Rishis' of old were even better. They made pupils the members of their families, but in those days that class of teaching which they imparted was not intended for the masses. Thousands of teachers cannot be had for the asking, nor will they live by begging. They must have a salary guaranteed, and, as we shall require quite an army of teachers, their remuneration cannot be in proportion to the capacity of the nation for payment. We may expect a steady rise as we realise the relative merits of the different callings. The rise must be painfully slow. There must therefore rise a class of men and women who will from patriotic motives choose teaching as a profession irrespective of material gain that it may bring them. Then the nation will not under-rate the calling of the teacher, on the contrary it will give the first place in its affection to those self sacrificing men and women.

The year 1929 is remembered chiefly for the visit of His Excellency, the Governor, and Lady Stanley as Chief Guests to the Prize Giving, and also for the excellent performance in the staging of "Julius Caesar". The year also marked the en try into the staff of Mr. K. Subramaniam as the Chief Tarnil Pandit and also of Mr. M. S. Thambithurai, both of whom were to give long and devoted service to the College in the years to come.

The College Football team won the Inter-Collegiate Championship in 1929 after a few years in the wilderness. The Athletic Team were runners-up. The Cadets also did well at Diyatalawa. Sgt. P. Selvarajah was selected as "best individual cadet" at Diyatalawa from among 800 odd cadets, and presented to His Excellency, the Governor.

The end of the year saw the retirement of the Vice-Principal, Mr. T. H. Crossette.

Mr. T. H. Crossette, M. A., F. R. H. S. was Head-master at St. John's from 1908-11 and Vice Principal from 1911-16 and again from 1921-29. He had 40 years of experience in teaching, holding high posts in that field in India and then in Ceylon. He was an Educationist honoured and respected in the whole of Ceylon. Rev Peto has stated that a large share of the success of the college was due to Mr Crossette's ability in planning and supervising the College affairs. He was an institution by himself and his retirement was a loss felt by the whole school. A man who was thorough and methodical. he was yet very understanding and sympathetic, and was respected and loved by everyone. An ideal teacher, he was a guide, philosopher and friend to Johnians young and old. Mr. A.M. K. Cumaraswamy in a fond recollection of him wrote, "My recollection of Mr. T. H. Crossette is one of grateful admiration. He was not effusive or spectacular, but under a rough exterior, he had an understanding and sympathetic heart, and was at his best in the way he helped lame dogs". After his retirement, Mr. Crossette was involved in social activities and was for a long time a nominated member of e Jaffna U. D. C. Even-though more than half a century has elapsed since he retired from the College, and more than 25 years since he passed beyond the veil, Mr. Crossette is still remembered with affection at St, John's as one of the greatest Vice-Principals in the history of the College.

In 1930. when Rev. Peto went on furlough, Mr. Crossette was brought back from retirement as Honorary Acting Principal for a period of about 6 months. A Crossette Scholarship fund was also started as a permanent monument to Mr.Crossette's work in the College.1930 also saw Mr. A. J. Evans bidding good-bye to the College. He was a very popular master, especially remembered for his services to the College Cricket Team, the Christian Union and the Boy Scout movement. Another who left St. John's, though temporarily was Mr. J. T. Arulanantham who went to Ridley Hall, Cambridge to do his theological studies.

1930 was another good year for the College Football XI which won the Inter-Collegiate Championship for the second year in running. In Athletics, St. John's were runners-up to Manipay Hindu College.

1931 was the year in which C.T.E. Mills crowned himself with glory by leading both the Cricket and Football teams to Championship honours. The Cricket Team won 7 of its 8 matches and the other was left drawn only because of lack of time. The Foot-ball team which won the Championship for the 3rd year in succession, created a record unlikely to be bettered, in that they were unbeaten during these three vintage years of 1929, 30 & 31. All 3 teams was led by C. T. E. Mills, who played extreme left, and combined so well with P. Thiagarajah the centre-forward, that they became the "darlings" of the Johnian crowd and were the terrors of the opposition. Their followers held them in such esteem in a similar way to those two Blackpool & England internationals Stan Mathews and Stan Mortensen of the early fifties, that hordes of men and boys followed their successes with great enthusiasm. Even to-day, though Mills and Thiagarajah are no more, their names bring a surge of pride into Johnian hearts. A measure of their stature can be gauged from the fact that it took another 36 years for St. John's to field an unbeaten foot-ball XI, which happened in 1967.

An interesting fact about the Cricket Team's victory over St. Patricks was that the latter was coached by Razor Smith the Ex-England Cricket International, ant the pre-match review was that St. Patricks should win easily. However, St. John's dismissed them for paltry scores of 54 and 57 and won in a canter by 1 wicket.

It was also a matter of pride for St. John's that of the 14 delegates selected to represent Ceylon at the All Asia Educational Conference, held in Benares in 1931, 3 were from the Staff of St. John's and 2 others were Old Boys. This was a prestigious conference and the President-elect was no other than Prof. Radhakrishnan. An Old Boy, Dr. A. Kandiah, brought honour to his Alma Mater, by obtaining his D. Sc. Lond., a rare achievement those days, being one of two Ceylonese to win this distinction then.

The outstanding event in 1931 was the appointment of Mr. A. M. K. Cumaraswamy, as Vice-Principal of St. John's. Mr. Cumaraswamy, a Fellow of the Physical Society of London, was holding the prestigious post of the Secretary of the Diocese of Colombo at the time of his appointment. A brilliant scholar while at St. John's, he had obtained Ist Class Honours, with a distinction in Mathematics at the Cambridge Senior Examination. He had been Vice-Principal, and for a time Acting Principal of Trinity College, Kandy. and his appointment to a position of trust and responsibility at St. John's met with unqualified appreciation. Mr.Cumaraswamy had been for several years on the General Committee of the Student Christian Association of India, Burma and Ceylon, and was for four years its Chairman. He had also been on the General and Executive Committees of the World Student Christian Federation, and in this connection had travelled widely through-out the world. It was felt that his extensive travels and useful connections, combined with his high educational qualifications would lend a dignity and honour to the post he was selected to fill.

A sad mood of disconsolation spread when towards the end of 1931, Miss. Page retired from the post of Principal of ChundikuIi Girls' College. She had been Principal for 28 years and had been closely associated with the welfare of St. John's.

1932 dawned brightly enough with the Cricket XI winning the Championship again and winning all its 5 Matches, including a victory over Jaffna Central College. The examination results were very encouraging. At the Cambridge Senior, 11 passed with 1 obtaining Honours, while in the Cambridge Junior 22 passed with 6 obtaining Honours with 6 distinctions. Among the Old Boys, Mr. W. J. Edwards obtained Ist place in passing out with Ist Class in the 2nd professional examination at the Ceylon Medical College. In April, 1932, Rev. Peto went on furlough and Mr. A.M,K. Cumaraswamy was acting Principal and Mr. J. C. Handy, Acting Vice Principal. The Acting Principal introduced two unusual awards at the Prize Giving, a Sinhalese prize for a non-Sinhalese and a Tamil prize for a non-Tamil. The Chief Guest at the Prize Giving was Mr. K. P. S. Menon from India, who had passed out first in the Imperial Civil Service, beating all others from the British Empire.

A pall of gloom settled over the College by two untimely deaths. The first was that of Miss. Willis, Principal of Chundikuli Girls' College, who had succeeded Miss. Page hardly a year ago. Then the whole school was shocked to receive the news of the demise of Rev. Jacob Thompson, a most respected and beloved Principal who had guided the destinies of the College from 1900 to 1919. Rev. Thompson was undoubtedly one of the greatest Principals of St. John's and his death caused great sorrow among numerous Old Boys in Ceylon, England, India and Malaya. During his Principalship, Rev. Thompson had but one aim and one object at heart, and that was to see his school become a power and an inspiration in the land. He spent his own money, he sacrificed the interests of his family for this cause. There is no doubt that he succeeded in this endeavour and he will be remembered as the one who laid the foundations of the modern St. John's College.

It was Rev. Thompson who first conceived the idea of giving the school a playground. He extended the premises, rebuilt the tottering old boarding houses, added the Fleming House, the Handy Library, the Clough Laboratory, the Robert Williams Hall and the Principal's Bungalow. He initiated the scheme for the Twynam Museum and it was during his time that the Old Boys Association was formed and the first College Magazine published in 1904. He introduced the Prefect system, and inaugurated the Social Service Union. He gave the College its Crest, the Eagle and the Motto of the School, "Lux in Tenebris Lucet". The road that runs through the school compound was constructed by him and the beautiful trees that deck the premises were all planted by him and nourished under his supervision. Even to-day, when one visits St. John's, one can see the handiwork of Rev. Thompson.

It should also be remembered that Rev. Thompson was responsible for founding the branch schools at Urumpirai and Kaithady. which have served not only as vital feeders of St. John's but have been veritable lights of culture in the villages concerned.

As the Editor of the College Magazine in 1932 states, "Mr. Thompson was a man of large vision. He had the courage to conceive great things and the capacity to realise them. To no single Principal, in the past, has St. John's owed so much as to Mr. Thompson. St. John's as it is to-day, is largely the product of the genius and self sacrificing service of Mr. Thompson. His boys loved him, the parents of the boys trusted him, the members of the public honoured him, and his Old Boys were fondly devoted to him. His frankness, his generosity and his undaunted optimism made him an outstanding personality that carried with it inspiration, hope and success." Rev. J. T. N Handy, one time Secretary of the Diocese of Colombo has gone on record stating that Mr. Thompson was one of the three greatest Missionaries who had impressed him most among those who had come to Ceylon. His name and memory will live at St. John's, cherished and treasured by Johnians past and present.

The early years of the thirties are remembered now chiefly because of the world wide depression of that time. The College was not unaffected by it. In the December, 1932, College Magazine, the Editor is constrained to write "already an appreciable decrease In the numbers, particularly in the lower standards is visible, even in some of our best schools. Managers and Principals will have their tale to tell of the growing importunity of parents for free tuitions to children, and of the difficulty they experience in recovering fees". In spite of difficulties of general retrenchment and inflation the period from 1932 to 1935 is not altogether without its high-lights, though it is a period of steady progress than of rapid advancement or achievement. During the period 1932-35, in the sphere of sports, the St. John's College Foot-ball XI were runners-up in 1932, 33 & 34, being unbeaten in 1932 & 34 and losing only the final in 1933. In athletics, they were runners-up in 1935.

At Cricket they were Champions in 1932, and in 1932 and 1933, St. John's won their big match by an innings. The team was sent at College expense to witness the M. C. C. Vs. Combined India & Ceylon team that year. In 1935 they dismissed the Parameshwara team for 13, eight of their batsmen failing to score. This must be something of a record, as also that of A. Perumal who played for 7 years in the first XI, during this period. Perumal was only 14 years when he entered the Cricket Team: He played from 1928 to 1934, captaining the team from 1932 to 1934. He was a superb all-rounder and with C. H. Duraisamy holds the record 6th wicket partnership of 139 in the Central-St. John's series his share being 77. This, after a disastrous start by. St. John's, when they lost their first 5 wickets for just 24 runs. He was also a fine spinner with performances of 5 for 24, 5 for 22 and 3 for 46 in the. Big Matches. He was also a dashing forward who played right-in for the College football XI from 1931 to 1934. S. Arnbalavanar & C. R. Canagasabai were two others who shone in the sports firmament around this time.

At examinations, in the 1932 Cambridge Senior Examination, 12 passed, one with Honours while in the Juniors. 26 passed, 3 with Honours including 7 distinctions. In 1933, at the Senior level 13 passed, 2 with Honours and in the Junior examination 24 candidates were successful, 2 obtaining Honours with 2 distinctions. These results were satisfactory enough, but the December, 1934 Examination results were disappointing. In the Senior Examination only 7 passed, though of these 3 passed with Honours and there were 6 distinctions. In the Junior Examination 16 passed and there were 12 distinctions. Commenting on the results, the Principal says, "In a year of unprecedented slaughter in the Cambridge Examination, our results compare favourably with those of other schools. It should be remembered that the standard required for a pass is higher in Ceylon than in any other country in the world where the same examination is held".

In 1932, the Sabapathy Gold Medal for Tamil Oratory was introduced, the first winner being K. Ayadurai. It is reported that a vary high standard was reached.

The Senior Literary Association was restructured to include boys from the Junior Cambridge up-wards. The meetings were chaired by one of the Vice-Presidents who was a member of the staff so that there was better guidance in the conduct of the meetings.

In 1934 the College suffered a serious loss with the appointment of Mr. S. J. Gunasegaram to the Principalship of St. Thomas' College, Matara. He had taught for 13 years at St. John's with great enthusiasm for his subjects. Outside the Class-room he was Vice-President of the Senior Literary Association and was Editor of the College Magazine for a number of years. He was mainly responsible for the high standard attained in the Shakespeare plays and the Oratorical contests for which he trained the boys. One of the outstanding events of 1934 was the celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the Prefects' Guild. Rev. Peto in paying his tribute said, "There is no doubt about the value of the Prefect system. It is an invaluable training for the individual member of the prefect body who accepts his responsibilities in right spirit, and the prefect body collectively can be a most valuable guardian of school tradition and discipline."

Towards the end of 1934, an appeal was made for the collection of funds known as "The Centenary and Thompson Appeal". The earlier Centenary appeal had not been closed as a fair portion of the promises had not been met. On the death of Rev. Thompson, the 0. B. A. of Jaffna and Colombo wanted a permanent memorial to be set up in memory of him. Therefore it was decided to combine both and the appeal was made to collect Rs. 35,000/ to enable the Girls' College to shift to new premises and also to build a new laboratory and dormitory as the Thompson memorial. There was noticeable and immediate response to this appeal and the fund grew appreciably. Mention should also be made of two gifts to the College. Rev. H. P. Napier-Clavering gave Rs. 8,400/ for capital expenditure and Mrs. Seenicutty Rs. 1,500 in memory of her son C.S. Ratnavale. Rev Peto has stated that C.S. Ratnavale was one of the most brilliant and in character, one of the best boys who had passed through St. John's. The memorial was to take the form of a building or laboratory. Ratnavale had died while at the Medical College.

A number of distinguished people visited the College in 1935. Among them were the C. M. S. delegation consisting of Prebendary Cash, the General Secretary of the C. M. S. in London, Sir Cusack Walton and Dr. Cook. The Chairman of the Church Schools Commission, Rev. G. T. Selvyn and Rev. A. G. Fraser of Trinity College and Achimota also visited the College. The Negro Delegation of the S. C. M. of America which visited Jaffna provoked much thought and feeling for them among the College members who had listened to their soul stirring messages and Negro Spirituals. Dr. E. Stanley Jones, the World famous preacher was another who made a profound impression on a Johnian audience that year.

1935 marked the Silver Jubilee of the Reign of King George V. Five Old Boys of the College received the King's Jubilee medal for loyal and valuable service. Another Old Boy, Mr. W. T. I.
Alagaratnam became the first Ceylonese to be appointed an Irrigation Engineer in the Irrigation Department. He of course. later went on to become the first Ceylonese Director of Irrigation. The first half of the thirties thus ended on a joyful note and in spite of the World wide depression, the College could look back happily on the last decade just passed as a period of steady progress and consolidation.