In addition to academic work which the school pursues diligently, students of Whitesands School participate actively in about 24 clubs and societies.
These are subject-based clubs, social and cultural clubs as well as sports such as football, volleyball, basketball, lawn and table tennis, badminton, karate and others. Each student is encouraged to belong to one of each club groups in one academic session. Some of the clubs meet within school stipulated periods while others meet after school hours.
There are six house teams in the school, and each student is assigned to one of them. Many competitions within the school, such as sports, debates, etc., are organised according to house teams. In allocating boys to houses, we make a conscious effort to distribute talents so that there can be a healthy, balanced competition among the houses. The more equal the houses are, the more we raise the quality of these competitions. At different times, the houses have varying strengths and weaknesses, which tend to cancel each other out.
The history of the house teams over time is heavily tied to the personalities of the house members, the housemaster, and the prevailing competitions at that time. This brings about diversity rather than superiority; it allows interactions among boys of different class levels. Within a very short time, boys make close friends within the house teams and develop a sense of loyalty to the house team to which they belong.
The house team names are taken from mountain ranges on the different continents of the world, sort of representing a unified chain of elevated landmasses. The house team colours are the primary colours and their first derivatives, while the mascots are animals that signify strength. The house teams and their colours and mascots are:
|
House Teams |
Colours |
Mascot |
|
Alps |
Red |
Eagle |
|
Appalachians |
Green |
Bear |
|
Andes |
Orange |
Stallion |
|
Atlas |
Yellow |
Elephant |
|
Himalayas |
Blue |
Tiger |
|
Pyrenees |
Purple |
Shark |
In addition to inter-house sports competitions within the school, there are also regular inter-school competitions in which Whitesands School participates.