In 1964, seven-year-old David Thomson was riding his bike over a bridge with a classmate. The boy turned to him and said, "My mother is so happy that we are friends because you are going to be able to do so much for me later in life."

Margot Kidder, actress and alumna of Havergal College in Toronto.

Margot Kidder, actress and alumna of Havergal College in Toronto.

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Mr. Thomson — who, of course, later took the reins of Canada's largest family fortune and is currently chairman of Thomson Reuters — had no idea what the boy meant at the time. "I wonder what it is that I am going to be doing for this chap?" he recalls thinking, in James Fitzgerald's 1994 book Old Boys: The Powerful Legacy of Upper Canada College.

The boy's statement reflects a perception held by many outsiders: that simply being enrolled at an elite private school such as Toronto's Upper Canada College (UCC) is a ticket to forging the connections needed for a high-powered career. And considering UCC's storied halls produced generations of Eatons, Bassets and Thomsons, not to mention big names such as Michael Ignatieff, Conrad Black and Ted Rogers, the perception is understandable. "Traditionally, those boys were being trained to be stewards of wealth," Mr. Fitzgerald says in an interview. "So the idea is that there's an old boys network that is going to make you rich — if you have the right friends."

While the road to riches and Canadian celebrity is surely more complex, the value of networking with students and alumni (called "old boys" at UCC) at the choicest of the elite schools is undeniable. Nevertheless, how much of this perception is actually reality?

Mr. Fitzgerald believes that powerful networks are built into the private school model. "Private schools, as a rule, deliver [long-lasting relationships] more than public schools," he says, noting that schools actively maintain alumni networks. Fundraising is "definitely part of the reason alumni [networks are] such a well-oiled machine."

"The networking component is something that has been done informally for years, decades," says Angie Foster, manager of alumni programs at UCC. "It was not uncommon for an old boy to call the college and say, 'I'm looking for a job here,' and we would say, 'I know Johnny works at this bank. Give him a call and see if he can help you out.' "

In 2004, UCC institutionalized this informal networking by launching Common Ties, a mentorship program that connects young alumni with more experienced "old boys." So far, more than 500 alumni have volunteered as mentors. To Ms. Foster, Common Ties is a natural extension of UCC's mandate of community. "Certainly that community does not end when you graduate," she says. "A lot of people send their kids to school so that they can build those networks not only while they're here but also after they graduate."

Karen Murton, the long-time principal of all-girls Branksome Hall, prefers the term "community" to "neworking." She says that peer-to-peer relationships that last into adulthood are key, but also student-teacher and student-alumni connections. "I could never say enough good things about the value of community in a school."

Branksome does use the title Networking Directory for its online social community designed to keep alumni in contact with each other. Ms. Murton believes that unique opportunities for such networking arose as the student body diversified.

When Branksome became an International Baccalaureate World School in 2006, it began attracting students from all over the world. This has afforded opportunities for Canadian students to be exposed to varied perspectives and form friendships with international students, which better prepares them for living and working in the 21st century. "The world is changing so fast. We're trying to train girls to be really happy and comfortable in a global economy, a global world," she says.

While networking seems to be front-of-mind for educators, many students and alumni don't think about the relationships they developed in school as networks. Gilbert Yee, a Toronto-based orthopedic surgeon, says his parents chose St. George's School in Vancouver to get a high-quality education. "I don't believe they gave much thought to networking," he said in an e-mail, adding that he doesn't think networking at St. George's benefited his career directly.

At many schools, students enjoy networking with former students as the result of organized events. Jordyn Benattar, a 10th grader at Branksome Hall and head of the debating society, says she benefited from receiving guidance on university life and how Branksome prepares students for the future from alumni as part of her careers class. She also had the opportunity to meet and speak with alumni about entrepreneurship, career development and university choices at a variety of lunchtime and after-school events.

William Mitchell, executive director of the Canadian Association of Independent Schools, sees the long-lasting personal networks students of private schools develop as simply a reaction to sharing years of their childhood with each other. "The idea that the networking is the purpose of the schools is not really on target," he says. "It's a natural outcome of the rich experience that they've had."

Mr. Mitchell advises parents to put the educational experience they want for their child above considerations about networking or the reputation of a school. "These schools have different approaches and different missions and give a different experience. Look for the program and the people who deliver the program that you think are the best match for your child."

So perhaps the outsider perception of a club of influential wealthy former schoolmates who collude to give each a leg up is mostly myth. After interviewing more than 300 UCC alumni for his book, Mr. Fitzgerald found, "The general attitude was 'What old boys network? There's no such thing.' "

And yet, the stories persist. Toward the end of Old Boys, 1989 alumnus Ian Charlton relates a story about a friend struggling to arrange security for a major event he was organizing: "Another guy, a UCC old boy a year older than me, came to the rescue. He picked up the phone and called Ted Rogers. Within thirty seconds, he had one hundred cellular phones."

"Who knows if it was true or not," Mr. Fitzgerald says, laughing. "It isn't like the Mafia."

Special to The Globe and Mail

ALUMNI POWER

Private schools: a breeding ground for movers and shakers (a selected list):

Branksome Hall, Toronto

Jackie Burroughs, actress
Trish Magwood, entrepreneur

Havergal College, Toronto

Carolyn Bennett, physician, politician
Linda Frum, journalist, senator
Dora Mavor Moore, actress and director
Margot Kidder, actress
Margaret McCain, philanthropist, former N.B. lieutenant-governor

Lower Canada College, Montreal

David Angus, lawyer, senator
George Ignatieff, diplomat
Gordon Nixon, banker
Stuart McLean, broadcaster, author

Ridley College, St. Catharines, Ont.

Hume Cronyn, actor
David Dodge, banker
Colm Feore, actor
Peter Gzowski, broadcaster, author
Michael Sabia, corporate chief
Selwyn House, Montreal
John McCallum, academic, politician
David Culver, corporate chief
Hartland Molson, business tycoon
Michael Pitfield, federal bureaucrat, senator

Upper Canada College, Toronto

Perrin Beatty, politician
James Cockburn, first Speaker of the House of Commons
Robertson Davies, author, journalist
Timothy Eaton, business tycoon
Michael Ignatieff, academic, politician
Hal Jackman, businessman, former Ontario lieutenant-governor
Stephen Leacock, academic, author
Roy McMurtry, jurist Robert Pritchard, academic, corporate chief
Conn Smyth, NHL owner
Kenneth Thomson, business tycoon
George and Galen Weston, business tycoons