The Colombo School of Arts and Sciences CSAS is a Cambridge International School that has carved a distinctive identity in Sri Lanka’s education sector through its intentionally small size and deeply personalised approach to learning. Catering to students from Grades 1 to 12, CSAS maintains a strict teacher to student ratio of 1 to 12, ensuring that every child receives individual attention and guidance. With a final student population of no more than 60, the school fosters a close familial culture where students are supported consistently as they progress through their academic journeys.
The educational philosophy of CSAS is founded on three core pillars Academic Excellence Ethics and Values and Character Development. Academic Excellence is reflected in the school’s strong academic track record since its inception in 2015. Students have consistently performed well in Cambridge examinations earning multiple Cambridge Awards both before and after the COVID 19 pandemic with the most recent award secured in 2024. This commitment to academic rigour continues beyond school as CSAS alumni go on to pursue higher education at prestigious universities across the world carrying with them the discipline and confidence instilled during their time at school.
Ethics Values and Character Development are embedded into student life primarily through the school’s structured and mandatory community service programme. Every senior student completes over 1000 community service hours annually ensuring that social responsibility is not an optional activity but a core part of education. Central to this effort is the school’s annual community service initiative SPERO which enables students to give back meaningfully to society while developing empathy leadership and essential social skills.
Over the years SPERO projects have made a tangible impact across Sri Lanka. These include donating two electric wheelchairs to the leprosy hospital in Hendala through funds raised at the benefit concert SPERO Hope for Serendib conducting a week long English ICT and hospitality training programme for 130 students in Trincomalee teaching English to over 100 children from three villages in Kallara and Maavil Aru and organising a street food festival at Green Path Colombo to fund weekly therapy sessions for 30 differently abled children for one year at the Sunera Foundation centre in Dehiwala. Additional initiatives include a six-day teaching programme for children of tea estate workers in Deniyaya repairing two incubators in the paediatric unit of the Badulla District General Hospital in 2023 and raising one million rupees in support of the Rotary for Little Hearts initiative at Lady Ridgeway Hospital.
This year SPERO takes on renewed significance as CSAS students turn their attention to flood relief efforts following Cyclone Ditwah. Nearly 1000 schools across Sri Lanka have been damaged disrupting the education of more than 275000 students. In response CSAS students aim to support affected schools by providing books school equipment and essential educational materials through funds raised at their upcoming drama production.
The production titled A Toast to Death The Prequel will be staged on 17 January 2026 at the Namel Malini Punchi Theatre. An original script written and produced by CSAS students the play serves as a prequel to a murder mystery staged in January 2025. While the earlier production centred on a series of murders at a gala celebrating the Mayor of London the prequel travels twenty years into the past to uncover a crime that sets the stage for the revenge that unfolds later. Set at a fête in Bath the story follows younger versions of key characters including Charles Grant Lady Evelyn Grant Madame Solene and Hastings the butler as ambition greed legacy and passion converge with deadly consequences.
For CSAS the value of this project extends far beyond the stage. Students are involved in every aspect of the production from managing sponsorships and presenting creative vision to handling legal and logistical requirements for a public performance under the guidance of the school. This hands-on experience reflects one of CSAS’s foundational tenets enabling students to achieve a deeper understanding of society systems and responsibility. The success of SPERO and of A Toast to Death The Prequel ultimately stands as a testament to the knowledge skills and values CSAS strives to instil in every student.
