A very generous benefactor

News this week, as we returned from half-term, to warm the soul. For the second time, a lady has left a legacy gift of more than a million pounds to our Bursary Fund. The first had no family connection to MGS, so it was extraordinary that, from her home on the Fylde Coast, she chose our charity to support. She had been an early graduate of Manchester University, and saw that our Bursary Appeal, started in 1998, would help bright boys from poor homes to make the best of themselves for their own and society's sake.

This second lady was the widow of an Old Mancunian. I imagine that, before he died and left his estate to her, he asked her in due course to include MGS in her will. This is by no means the first time that this kind of arrangement has been acted out, but the amount is exceptional. I find it very touching that such gifts from women come to this all-boys school in loving memory of their husbands.

This gift will provide at least four additional means-tested bursary places here in perpetuity. Over time, that will be a lot of young men to be grateful to this couple of benefactors of the school. It will also reduce, but sadly not yet to zero, the number of deserving, bright boys we have to turn away each year for lack of bursary funding. For the moment, let's enjoy the positive rather than rue the negative. Thank you, in memory, Mr & Mrs Entwisle.

Blazers, blues and wellies

On Tuesday to Heaton Moor to see retired Maths teacher Gordon (Tweedy) Harris. My first memory of him is as the non-teaching supervisor of 3a in 1964/5 when the introduction of the 6-day cycle produced a Day 6, period 6 lesson which was an empty slot, and therefore a private study session, for my form. Not sure we made very good use of the opportunity to get any real work done. Gordon trekked, played the organ and officiated at Prizegivings as well as teaching Mathematics. He keeps in touch with school through the 20/30 Club and a number of friends.

Then to Didsbury to see an Old Manc now in his 80s who is being cared for in a nursing home. Macular degeneration has left him with very little sight, but what a wonderful memory he has of his time at school and in particular of a form tutor who took him under his wing, 'Haffie' Field. I was there to receive a donation of two blazers for the MGS Archive - a discreet, navy, colours blazer and a garishly striped Old Mancunians one in black red and gold - both in perfect condition and a great reminder of 1940s fashion. I was also lent a lovely silver lapel pin-badge - a small owl above SAPERE AUDE, which we are going to investigate having copied for sale to 21st century OMs.

Haffie was for years at the centre of MGS lacrosse (as well as teaching Physics and writing comic poems for Ulula and Punch) and would be pleased to know that the game has had something of a revival at school in the last few years. Indeed, we have two OM Cambridge half-blues at lacrosse this year, Sam Spurrell, the Cambridge captain, and Michael Lipton, man-of-the-match in the victory over Oxford.

Bursary fundraising by our senior sixthformers continued this week with the Superstars competition (basketball skills) and a highly entertaining welly-throwing competition organised for our Junior Section boys. This was keenly contested, both for athletic honour and for the prize of a box of chocolates.

So will the next thing be half-blues for welly-throwing? MGS boys will be up there with the best.

The sixthformers' plans for further fundraising via running the Blackpool half-marathon on 11 April are now well advanced. Many of them have pages at http://www.justgiving.com/ - search for the MGS Trust as the beneficiary.

Back from half-term

The six o'clock alarm was a bit of a shock this Monday morning after a relatively light week when school was on half-term. I was on call as the Manchester contact for a trip to Poland, but completely unneeded as everything went to plan. A far cry from last half-term when I was kept pretty busy as the staff and boys on Desert Trek near Marrakesh suffered from unexpectedly high temperatures and keeled over with worrying regularity.

It's a good thing that the Dev Office staff can be involved in many of the pupils' and teaching staff's activities - soon we'll be sorting out the arrangements for Activities Week in the summer term when all teaching stops for a week and everyone goes to camp or takes part in a fantastic range of Manchester-based activities from rowing to cooking.

We're hoping to add Sir Ben Kingsley to the growing list of Old Mancunian stars of stage and screen who will help us to celebrate the opening of the new Drama Centre in the autumn. There can't be that many OMs whose appearances are managed by a New York-based publicist! We're now in touch and trying to make the diaries match. Sir Ben was last at MGS for an acting masterclass in 1998, following the launch of the Foundation Bursary Appeal.

For news of a successful young Old Manc entrepreneur, Jonny Goldstone, follow this link:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article7034889.ece

If you have news of Old Mancs' achievements, please let us know at oldboys@mgs.org.