A Visit to Doon School

Wednesday Chris, Pete and I visited the Doon School in Dehra Dun. We met their development director, Jayant, at the CASE seminar we attended in Delhi a month ago, and were enthusiastic to continue the relationship begun there. Both schools could learn about the things we do best in development and alumni relations.

The Doon School is a famous independent school, spread across 70 acres in the Cantonment Area of Dehra Dun. The goal of the school is to provide young Indians with a liberal education, and to instill in them a respect for the ideals of secularism, discipline and equality. In the poll held by Education World in September 2008, Woodstock was ranked as the number one international school in India, and Doon was ranked as the number one residential school in India. Over the years there has been a good deal of interaction between the two schools, from sports competitions to arts festivals.

The campus is beautiful and they have had an ambitious building program, with new homes for faculty, the currently in process art building and more. The main classroom building is shown from two sides.


















The dorm areas are divided into five houses for grades 8 through 12. Seventh graders are housed together for their first year as they are introduced to the policies and procedures of the school. Their housing accommodations are quite spartan and neat compared to the ones at Woodstock. The summer uniform of gray shorts and blue shirt helps create a feeling of equality among the boys. All their clothes are kept in a linen room.


















An old-style bungalow home is shown below, as is one of the newer style of staff housing.

















The Doon School Old Boys’ Society is very active in fund-raising, social projects, and support for the school. It has been in existence since 1937, two years after the founding of the school.