Zahira College Colombo which has been in existence for 121 years is a well established and well known School in Sri Lanka. Spread over an eleven acre block of land in Maradana in the heart of Colombo, it has over the years been endowed with a number of buildings to house its infrastructure, a competition size Playground, Swimming Pool, Dental Clinic, Hostel, Canteen, Bookshop and Students Counseling Room. Practically all the buildings are well equipped with up to date furniture and fittings.
Zahira College is one of the very few schools in Colombo which conducts classes in all three mediums, namely Sinhala, Tamil and English. The demand for entry to the school has now reached levels which far exceed the number of Year One students that can be taken each year.
Whilst concentrating on improving the teaching standards of the teachers and teaching methodology (by training), tremendous efforts have been put in to improve the infra-structure of the College by completing four important buildings, namely the new Science Block Building, the Al Makthoum Building with 08 classrooms, Library and Audorium, the Desamanya M.T.A. Furkhan Building with 22 classrooms plus IT, Library and Auditorium facilities, and a state of the art Swimming Pool – all within the last four years.
Over the years Zahira College has built up a tremendous reputation for Sports, participating regularly at Inter School and National Levels in Cricket, Rugby, Soccer, Athletics, Hockey, Swimming, Table Tennis and Karate.
In the game of Soccer which is now the popular sport at the College, Zahirian’s continue to maintain an unbeaten record winning tournaments and regularly emerging All Island School Champions in all three age groups repeatedly for a number of years.
Both in Cricket and in Rugby, Zahira is one School that has its own Nursery to identify and train at an early age talented Cricketers and Ruggerites.
Although Zahira College is generally considered a Muslim School, admission has always been open to children of all denominations. Over the years, Zahira has produced a large number of non-Muslim students who have reached the highest echelons in the professional and academic world. The Board of Governors of the College has consistently adopted an open policy for all communities, and as required by Islam respects all religions and all human beings as equals. With more than fifty percent of the teaching staff being non-Muslims there is excellent input from all communities in the co-ordinated efforts of Zahira.