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Hillwood College crestHillwood CollegeKandy · Est. 1890

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The crest, the motto, the song and the hymn. These are the things every Hillwood girl learns in her first term and remembers for the rest of her life.

Hillwood College crest
School crest

The berundaand the shield

The Hillwood crest carries the berunda — the double-headed bird of Kandyan heraldry — on a shield divided by the chief band. One head looks back to what the school has been; the other looks forward to what its students will become.

The crest is a registered mark of the College. Permission must be obtained from the school administration before any reproduction or use.

School motto
“Sursum Corda”
Lift up your hearts
Founded
1890
Sangaraja Mawatha, Kandy
Sung at every assembly

The school songand the hymn

Both are printed here in full. The recordings are listen-only, as sung by the Senior Choir.

The players below carry silent placeholder tracks so the listen-only controls can be reviewed. The College’s own recordings replace them before launch.

School Song

High on the hill where the mist comes down, Above the lake and the ancient town, There stands a school with her gates flung wide — Hillwood, our Hillwood, our joy and pride. Sing for the years that have gone before, Sing for the girls at the open door, Sing for the ones who are yet to come, Hillwood, our Hillwood, our second home. Not for the prize and not for the name, Not for the sound of a passing fame, But for the truth that we hold in view — Hillwood, our Hillwood, we follow you.

School Song

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School Hymn

Lift up your hearts, ye daughters of the morning, The day is young and all the world is wide; Go forth in faith, whatever be the calling, And let the light of learning be your guide. Teach us to work with patience and with gladness, Teach us to bear what we would rather flee; Grant us the grace to meet both joy and sadness With steady hearts, and hold our honour free. And when at last we leave these walls behind us, And go our ways to labour and to roam, Let something of this hillside still remind us Of all we learned, and all that called us home.

School Hymn

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Student life

Three houses,one competition

Every student joins a house on her first day and stays in it until she leaves. Sisters are placed together. Select a house to read its song.

  • Ireland

    Motto

    “Steadfast in every season”

    About the house

    Named for Rev. Ireland Jones, whose appeal to the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society brought about the founding of the College. Ireland House has taken the Champion House shield eighteen times, most recently in 2024.

  • Bellerby

    Motto

    “Courage before comfort”

    About the house

    Named for Miss Elizabeth Bellerby, the College's founding Principal. Bellerby House holds the record for consecutive athletics championships, with five between 2015 and 2019.

  • Nash

    Motto

    “Together we rise”

    About the house

    Named for Miss Margaret Nash, who established the College's first science laboratory in 1934. Nash House has produced more College Colours in aesthetics than any other house.

For the College to confirm: the house names, colours and songs shown here are placeholders for the prototype. Please supply the College’s own houses and their songs, and we will set them in place.

Next

The history behind the crest

Ten principals, one hillside, and a school that has outlasted every one of them.

Read our historyA day at Hillwood