Alumni Awards, Souvenirs & OM News

Each year we recognise and celebrate the exceptional achievements
of Old Mancunians around the world.

Below are the 2026 nominees for an Alumni Award:

	Nick Bent (82-89) was awarded the MBE in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours’ List for “his services to education”. A former ministerial adviser and Labour parliamentary candidate, Bent is chief executive of upReach, a charity which works with employers and universities to help around 3,000 students a year from working-class and poorer backgrounds to obtain top graduate jobs. Bent also founded, and previously ran, the Tutor Trust which provides tutors in parts of northern England to school and college students whose families can’t afford to pay for extra tuition.
	Mike Hack (66-73) who founded Astley and Tyldesley Cycling Club, has been awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service. The award is an equivalent of an MBE and is a permanent honour for the Club. Mike is also General Secretary of the International Cycle Speedway Federation (ICSF) and an Interim Trustee of the new Cycle Speedway Federation, having previously served as Chair of British Cycling's Cycle Speedway Commission. All positions are voluntary and unpaid.
	Lestat McCree (08-16) & Max Clarke (08-17) who are half brothers, were featured in a long article in the Times Magazine in July on the health business which they founded in 2020, called Healf (sic!) Essentially an online health retailer, the business has grown astonishingly fast, partly fuelled by the ambition of many young people to live much longer than their parents. Among products sourced by Healf are David Beckham’s longevity drink; bright light therapy lamps; and also temperature-regulating mattresses. In 2025, Healf came second in the Sunday Times 100 list of fastest growing businesses, with revenue of more than £100 million and 434% annual growth. At MGS, McCree was chairman of the Senior Economics Society and founded the Middle School Politics Society.
	Andy Milne TS (88-97) has written a book entitled That World Cup Guy: Forty Years, Nine World Cups and One Fan’s Incredible Journey. As the title suggests, it relates Milne’s adventures following England at World Cup tournaments from 1982 to 2022.

Please vote today for the Old Mancunian who you feel most deserves to be recognised with an Alumni Award 
The deadline for voting is 31st October 2026.

The Old Mancunian Alumni Awards honour the exceptional achievements of our former pupils. Recipients of these awards will have demonstrated that Old Mancunians from a wide variety of backgrounds, all with roots at MGS, excel in their chosen fields. Our alumni Awards aim to honour the exceptional achievements of our alumni, ranging from those who are established in their careers to those who are just getting started. Recipients embody the spirit of the Old Mancunian community across the generations.

In 2025  the Old Mancunian community and Sixth Form pupils voted for two winners: OM Imran Ahmed (89-96) and Philip Newall (59-66). In 2024  the Old Mancunian community and Sixth Form pupils voted for three winners: Brian Groom (66-73), Derek Wax (73-80), and Ben Shalom (05-12). Photographer and OM Sefton Samuels (42-47) was nominated for a posthumous award to acknowledge the contribution of his portraits of notable Old Mancunians which hang on the corridors of MGS and are featured on the homepage of this website.

 
Our previous award recipients can be viewed on the MGS Life website
Read the latest version of The Old Mancunian magazine to see previous nominees and winners

Read more about Old Mancunians with Honours