Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference


The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference is an association of the head teachers of 345 independent schools. 296 Members are based in the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and the Republic of Ireland. There are also 49 International Members and 12 Associate Members who are head teachers of state schools or other influential individuals in the world of education, who endorse and support the work of HMC.

History

The Conference dates from 1869 when Edward Thring, Headmaster of Uppingham, asked sixty to seventy of his fellow headmasters to meet at his house to consider the formation of a "School Society and Annual Conference". Fourteen accepted the invitation, and twelve were present for the whole of the initial meeting: Thring himself, George Blore, Albert Wratislaw, John Mitchinson, William Grignon, Robert Sanderson, George Butler, Augustus Jessopp, William Wood, Steuart Pears, T. H. Stokoe, Daniel Harper, and James Welldon. John Dyne attended on the second day, and Alfred Carver did not turn up. From that date there have been annual meetings. It changed its name from the "Headmasters' Conference" to the "Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference" in 1996. The current Chair is Fiona Boulton, Headmistress of Guildford High School.
Membership of the HMC is often considered to be what defines a school as a public school in England and Wales. Not all private or independent schools are in the HMC; in particular, many notable girls' schools are not members, partly because historically the HMC was for boys' schools only. Today HMC's membership includes boys', girls' and co-educational schools.

Structure

The size of the Conference has grown. Until the 1970s, membership was confined to 200 schools.

List of HMC member schools

The following are the member schools, listed with their headmaster or headmistress. In some schools other titles are used, such as "High Master", "Warden", "Rector" and "Principal".

England

Africa

HMC Projects in Central and Eastern Europe is a charity offering opportunities for students and young teachers from Central and Eastern Europe to develop themselves, by coming to HMC member schools in UK for a year.

Chairs of the Headmasters' Conference (HMC)

<*> Change to Academic Year Chairmanship

Chairs of the HMC Committee

The following were Chairmen of the HMC Committee in the early years of the Conference. In these years they served alongside the Chairman of the Conference until, in 1921, it was agreed that the Chairman of the Annual Meeting should always also be Chairman of the HMC Committee.
InstitutionYear of First ChairmanshipTotal Years as Chair
Winchester College187315
Eton College187914
Charterhouse188612
Rugby School187611
Shrewsbury School189811
King Edward's School, Birmingham18727
Wellington College18815
Haileybury18975
The Manchester Grammar School19535
Sherborne School18704
Westminster School19124
Dulwich College18743
Marlborough College18773
University College School18823
Merchant Taylors' School18923
Magdalen College School19073
St Paul's School, London19693
Uppingham School18692
Harrow School18782
Tonbridge School19022
Malvern College19062
Monkton Combe School19632
Ampleforth College19752
Highgate School18711
Clifton College18751
Bradfield College19001
Christ's Hospital19041
The Leys School19091
Reading Blue Coat School19131
Bristol Grammar School19701
King's College School, Wimbledon19721
George Watson's College19761
Bolton School19781
Lancing College19801
Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School19851
Bradford Grammar School19881
Canford School19891
Trinity School of John Whitgift19931
Portsmouth Grammar School19961
Daniel Stewart's and Melville College19981
Bryanston School20001
Norwich School20011
Berkhamsted Collegiate School20051
Forest School20061
The Perse School20071
Wolverhampton Grammar School2007-81
Dean Close School2008-91
St Albans School2009–101
City of London School2010–111
Leicester Grammar School2015–162
Ashford School2016–171
Reigate Grammar School2018-191