The school was inaugurated in 1978 as Janadipathy Vidyalaya and later renamed as Royal College. Current students of the school are referred to in the press as Panadura Royalists. The college conducts classes from grade 1 to 13 in both Sinhala and Tamil medium including English medium from grade six onwards. The college is spread across over , and has an information technology centre, facilities of over ten scientific labs, auditoriums, a sports complex with squash courts, basketball courts and table tennis, an international standard rugby football ground and a modern gymnasium, two cricket grounds and nets, swimming pool with diving facilities, along with volleyball and tennis courts. The school also has a
cadet corps. ==Cricket==