Philanthropy, visitors and reunions

Can you get richer by giving your wealth away? This was the question put by Andrew Neil to an international panel of speakers in front of a large audience at KPMG's Salisbury Square, London offices on Wednesday. I was there as a guest of Carole Stone to learn more about the psychology of benefactors. And the answer to the question? Well, if you are an individual and you define 'wealth' as 'wellbeing', the answer is 'yes', and if you are a company and you want to be successful, it's no longer optional to support good causes: only those that do, succeed.

An Old Mancunian who heads the international IT corporation Thoughtworks, Roy Singham, visited school today and spoke to our sixth form economics students about his business vision and personal philosophy. Only able to attend MGS for one year in the 60s because of his family's international moves, Roy remembers Ian Bailey as one of his influential teachers. Roy was accompanied by Dan Moore, a fellow OM and one of Thoughtworks' UK programmers. I was impressed by the engagement of Roy's audience, most of whom had been up for most of the night watching the election results come through. Ah, si vieillesse pouvait!

Tomorrow is a big reunions day at school. At lunchtime, former members of Scout Troop 2 and Venturers will meet in the Paton Library. In the afternoon and evening, more than 200 OMs who started their MGS careers before 1951 will assemble to watch the cricket, tour the school and enjoy a fine dinner. This is part of a cycle of 5-yearly gatherings which are greatly enjoyed. Let's hope the Manchester weather is kind to us.