One of the very first lessons I learnt when I arrived at the Grammar School in 1968 was that I would never have a career in music.

At age 12, Form choir practice was stopped after three minutes and I was identified as the pupil emitting a strange noise that bore no resemblance to the music. It was suggested that I relocate myself to the back row of the choir and encouraged to "simply mime the words". It was a lesson well-learnt. Turning my hand to woodwork, I remember similar concern shown by Mr Burrows as I failed to construct a bird seed table. I went home with just a single chunk of wood which I told my father, optimistically, was a towel rack. Again, the scales fell from my eyes a few days later when I saw him stirring paint with it.

This was not the most promising of starts. And any thought of finding success in more academic subjects seemed unlikely as I failed to get to grips with Maths or any of the sciences; quadratic equations, photosynthesis and periodic tables were all alien to me. It was a less forgiving time when your exam result was bellowed out in front of the whole class and it still sends a slight shiver as I remember in Physics "...and finally bottom of the class, 32nd out of 32, Rodger with 21%".

The 6th Form gave me some respite. Mssrs Morgan, Harrald and Mason awoke in me a love of language as they expertly guided me to three A grades in Spanish, French and English. I loved reading Spanish and French at Fitzwilliam College Cambridge, where Music, Woodwork and Physics played no part in my studies. In fact, I loved it so much that I returned to Grammar School, not Reigate but The Royal Grammar School High Wycombe, where I taught until I was 30. I then joined the European Marketing Department at Reuters in Fleet Street where I worked for the next eleven years. It didn't seem too much of a jump; learning and teaching languages is all about communication and that's the basis of all good marketing too. Next stop was the law firm Allen & Overy where I was the global head of public relations. Again, all about communication and all about some of the skills that my teachers at RGS had encouraged me to learn. I will always be grateful to them.

At the age of 50, I set up my own PR agency with my friend Tim. On Day 1, we had no clients, no revenue and arguably no idea. But it grew from that subterraneum base into the multi-million pound agency it is today. Again, it was all about language and communication. Again, the link back to what I had learnt at RGS was strong. One very late night, I wrote the summary of The Leveson Report into press standards to deliver in the morning to the world's media. The experience was very akin to a 6th Form essay crisis where you knew your words would be examined in forensic detail; thank you again Mssrs Morgan, Harrald and Mason.

Now that I'm on holiday for life, I've had time to commit to several City of London Livery Companies. They all have similar aims to the RGS Foundation. They look to support their communities and help with education, mentoring and training and raise many millions of pounds every year for charitable causes. They try to give back to their communities, not just financially but through the experience and (it is to be hoped) expertise of their members. It was through one of those livery companies that I was honoured to be given The Freedom of the City of London in 2022 (that's me with the sheep) with my citation reading that I was a 'Citizen and Communicator'; there's that communications thing again.

Iain's Top Tip

If you're currently a pupil at RGS, you may be happy or horrified to know that you may well still know some of your classmates 50 years from now. I met three of my closest friends at RGS and we still see each other monthly and have annual trips away. Get involved in everything. Even music and woodwork. Not everything will stick. But a few things will and these few things will bring you a great deal of fun and pleasure in your life. And, when you come to look back on your time at the school, you'll see your time at RGS can cast a long and very happy shadow.