Beyond The classroom

The Rosebowl

Sports And Co-Curricular Activities

Multi-tasking is rapidly being acknowledged as a necessary skill. At the Doon School, our students learn very early to focus, prioritize and effectively juggle preparations for their upcoming class tests, train for soccer matches, and allocate time for the multimedia contest they have signed up for, as well as practise the sitar for the music competition!

Our students take pride in a job well done, however small it may be. The school provides a wealth of opportunities for extracurricular pursuits. Boys find their niche and at the same time enjoy exploring uncharted domains. In the process, without their being aware of it, a different aspect of their personality emerges and is honed.

Midterm

The term has a five-day break structured into the calendar. The entire school, including teachers, trek and camp at various predetermined routes chalked out in the Garhwal Himalayas. A love for nature, a deep seated concern for the environment and a yearning for adventure are often the rewards harvested during these bi-annual midterms.

The Doon School is largely responsible for pioneering the ‘midterm’ concept, which is today avidly followed by quality boarding schools in India.

Midterms

Mountaineering

Tradition often sets the benchmark for the younger generation. Everest base camp expeditions and scaling peaks like Jogin III stoke the students’ desire to emulate their seniors and teachers. Selected boys are sent every year to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) at Uttarkashi and the Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering at Gulmarg or Auli. The school takes pride in the fact that we were one of the first educational institutions, way back in the 1930s, that placed such activities at par with the academic curriculum.

In the 1930s and 1940s, staff and students mounted many of the first climbs in the region, going upto heights of over 20,000 ft.

Mountaineering

Publications

In this media-barraged world, writing skills, turn of phrase and succinctly put together information are of great importance. The Doon School Weekly (DSW), written and edited by the boys, has been in existence since 1936 and is much awaited at Saturday morning breakfast. It is the Doon School's newspaper. Prayas and Arpan (Hindi) and The Echo (a biannual science publication) are written, edited and published by our boys too. The Yearbook, the School List, and The Doon School Information Review are other key publications.

School Publications

Societies And Councils

Those with special interests become active members of specific societies: The Debating Society, The Historical Circle, the Astronomical Society, The Scientific Society, The Nature Club, to name a few.

Doon pioneered the idea of an elected School Council consisting of students, teachers and the Headmaster. The School Council is a key administrative body that debates various issues concerning the daily lives of the students. An early initiation into the decision-making process indeed!

The Library Council members take decisions on which books should be added to the racks of the much-visited Kilachand Library, which houses a collection of 25,000 books.

Sports

“You don't win silver, you lose gold!”

These were the words of an Olympian after coming in second in the 100m sprint. Games at the Doon School are played with much fervour and passion. There is emphasis on regular exercise and physical fitness. All games are supervised by masters. Team spirit and the desire to give the best performance possible are our watchwords. Nationally-trained coaches come to the school to coach the boys, and the last decade has witnessed a tremendous improvement in the techniques and performance of our boys.

Cricket, hockey and soccer are seasonal sports. Tennis, table tennis, badminton, squash, basketball, swimming, boxing, athletics and gymnastics tournaments are also built into the calendar.

IAYP (International Award for Young People), which replaced DEAS (The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme), is pursued with great enthusiasm by many students and the programme continues to churn out bronze, silver and gold medals to the meritorious.

The RLSS (Rashtriya Life Saving Society) programme has been restarted and is attracting a good number of boys.

Sports

STA (Spare Time Activity)

‘If your hobby becomes your profession, you will always love your work’…goes an old Persian saying.

Many Doscos have managed to develop their 2-hour a week pursuit into a full time profession. Carpentry, photography, aeromodelling, first-aid, dramatics, painting, sculpture, music and a host of other activities are offered to our students. Well-trained staff and external instructors supervise the STAs.

The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) conducts examinations in ‘The Speaking of Verse and Prose’ and our boys 'put in a commendable performance by international standards' in the words of the external examiner who flew in from London in 2003.

STA

Something For Everyone

Spare time at the Doon School comes at a premium. The school offers a wide range of activities so that there is something for everyone.

Sports

Athletics
Badminton
Basketball
Boxing
Cricket
Gymnastics
Hockey
Road Running
Soccer
Squash
Swimming
Table Tennis
Tennis

Societies/ Clubs

Art Society
Astronomical Society
Bharat Vani
English Debating
English Literary Society
Historical Circle
Information Technology
Maths Colloquium
Music Society
Nature Club
Scientific Society
Yuv Bharati

Publications

Arpan (Hindi)
Echo (Science)
Prayas (Hindi)
The Circle
The Doon School Information Review
The Doon School List
The Doon School Weekly
The Doon School Yearbook

Socially Useful & Productive Work (SUPW)

Art / Screen Printing
Audio Visual Squad
Bank Squad & Tuck Shop
Chair Squad
Child Education
Design & Technology
Estate Care
First Aid & Ambulance
House Squads
IAYP
Implement Store & Anti Malaria
Information Technology
Library Committee
Lost Property Office
Mountaineering
Music
Paper Recycling
RLSS
RSIS
Stage Committee
Sunrise Club
Trophy Squad
Village Development
Weather Reporting
Website Maintenance

Spare Time Activities (STA)

Adventure Club
Aero-Modelling
Art
Carpentry
Chess
Computers
English Dramatics
French
German
Hindi Dramatics
Industrial Chemistry
Junior Chemists
Maths Modelling
Metal Work
Motor Mechanics
Music
Nursery and Gardening
Photography
Video Club