Nostalgic visit to LSE

Nostalgia, yes. Quite as expected. But pride? Better keep this to myself.

The occasion was no more than a reunion for alumni of the London School of Economics and Political Science who graduated in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Since I fitted in both slots, I simply could not ignore the call to revisit "The School", which I attended for five years.

A feeling of nostalgia gripped me the moment I set foot through the very same door I used to know so well: nothing had changed there. Not even the "Old Theatre" straight to the left where I attended so many lectures by the likes of Robbins, Lipsey, Edwards, Phelps-Brown, Paish, Day and others, (How can I forget the very first lecture on a rare beautiful October morning after a poxy summer to hear " what on earth are you doing here on such a sunny day? You should all be in the parks making love"?). Or the lively evening debates with participations from personalities like loveable Nye Bevan, boffin-economist Harold Wilson, plebeian George Brown (all still in opposition) and sedate Iain McLeod, then in harness as Chancellor of the Exchequer, with my supervisor as his chief adviser. Not to ignore Harold Laski's ghost lurking everywhere.

More than 200 alumni, mainly from overseas, came over for the two-day functions. Not surprising when I recollect that nearly 40 per cent were then non-UK citizens. Currently, I learn, the percentage has approached 70. And there are still, on average, 15 applicants for each undergraduate place, even though the student population has grown considerably over the last half century, not least judging by the considerable physical expansion of the campus in terms of teaching, learning and recreational facilities - the new academic building in Kingsway about to be inaugurated. It was a pleasure visiting the new redeveloped library, which still remains as impressive and awesome as we knew it.

The first rooftop reception provided us with an excellent opportunity to reminisce over our experiences while at the school and on the events that have moulded our lives since graduation. A common thread was a sense of disillusion with politics as a "science", particularly its continued distancing from economics. And, yet, the school increasingly plays a prominent role in world affairs. Indeed, it is one of the few UK universities enjoying a truly world-class status due to its persistent improvement in academia. In a recent research assessment exercise, which measures UK universities on teaching quality and academic excellence, the school took second place in the league table.

Such is the international esteem enjoyed by the school that an incipient movement in the UK for its complete segregation from London University was quashed by the overseas alumni who simply couldn't easily forget that, of all UK academic institutions, it was London which, in the 1940s, responded positively to the Labour government's call for accessing its facilities to the working class in Britain and to the Commonwealth in general through the award of external degrees via postal tuition.

A panel discussion had as its theme A New Global Economic Order For The 21st Century? with the participation of a professor of current political economy and development and an a former professor at the school later to become a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee. In the chair an alumnus who is now managing director of HSBC's investment banking. The discussion was as lively as expected and could have lasted the whole day in the exceptional worrying global scenario. I have a feeling that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was briefed on what was said because his keynote speech a week later, attacking the world's capitalist system, reflected practically all the proceedings.

The grand finale was a dinner cruise on Old Father Thames with Tower Bridge opening up for us to go through. The revisit will surely linger long in my memory, supplemented by an inevitable swelling of pride for being so lucky as a student.