I was saddened to hear of the death of Mr. Weeraratne, who was a very devoted teacher.
I remember when about ten of us students obtained first division passes in tile SSC (equivalent to the O level) but
failed in Sinhalese. Thakshan Fernando, Susantha Jayaratne, Quintus Fernando wwere among the
ones that failed in Sinhalese. At that time, one had to have a pass in Sinhalese to take up a
place at the University.
Mr. Weeraratne suggested that if we were to sit the London Matriculation examination
with modern Sinhalese as a subject we could overcome this problem .He therefore
arranged a class every Saturday morning and with that training all of us passed the
London Matriculation examination.
At that time tuition after school or classes on Saturdays was never done.
He devoted a great deal of his time to the welfare of his students. He organised sports
meets and concerts and spent time discussing school activities and planning various
events with the senior Mr.Liyanage (Lakhi Livanage’s father) whom he visited regularly.