Each boy plays organised games for one hour a day, five times a week, under the supervision of a teacher. The junior and primary boys are divided into sets and games are played according to the season. Besides, enough time is allowed for the boys to play on their own, to be inventive and to learn how to occupy themselves independently. Students also learn karate from a trained instructor. Students Rock climbing is take seriously with instructors coming in for the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. We will be the only school in and around Darjeeling to have an Obstacle Course.
Spare time is not allowed to become a burden or a bore; good leisure-hour habits are fostered through hobbies of various kinds. The younger boys in the Junior Wing belong to the School’s Boy Scout troop known as Carmichael’s Own, and the youngest in the Primary Wing become Cubs. There are television sets for all three wings with satellite TV connections so that boys can watch the news everyday and programmes that are of educational value. Boys also watch important sports events regularly. There are plenty of indoor games that keep children happily occupied.
The major games are cricket, football and hockey. Tennis, badminton, table-tennis, squash, basketball and volleyball are also played; and there are short seasons for athletics and cross-country running. There are very few places in the world where Eton Fives is played and St. Paul’s is one of them; this is a sport which is ideally suited to our monsoon conditions. The whole school has fifteen minutes physical training every morning before studies. This is taken by Prefects and supervised by the P.T. master.
