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Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference

Association of independent school head teachers

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
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Source updated September 17, 2026
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The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools and day schools), traditionally described as public schools. 302 members are based in the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and Ireland. There are 72 international members (mostly from the Commonwealth) and also 28 associate or affiliate 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.

01History

The Conference dates from 1869 when Edward Thring, Headmaster of Uppingham School, asked sixty 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: Edward Thring, George Blore (Bromsgrove School), Albert Wratislaw (King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds), John Mitchinson (The King's School, Canterbury), William Grignon (Felsted School), Robert Sanderson (Lancing College), George Butler (Liverpool College), Augustus Jessopp (Norwich School), William Wood (Oakham School), Steuart Pears (Repton School), T. H. Stokoe (Richmond), Daniel Harper (Sherborne School), and James Welldon (Tonbridge School). John Dyne (Highgate School) attended on the second day, and Alfred Carver (Dulwich College) did not turn up. From that date there have been annual meetings.

Until the 1970s, membership was confined to 200 schools. In 1996, the association changed its name from the "Headmasters' Conference" to the "Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference". In 2023, the name was changed to HMC (The Heads' Conference).

Membership of the HMC is often considered to be what defines a school as a public school in England and Wales. Not all 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. In 2005, the association opened membership to heads of girls-only schools. Today HMC's membership includes boys', girls' and co-educational schools.

02List of HMC member schools in The United Kingdom

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland

Guernsey

Jersey

Isle of Man

03International members

Africa

Asia

Australia and New Zealand

Central, North and South America

Continental Europe

Middle East

04Associates

05HMC Projects in Central and Eastern Europe

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 the UK for a year.

06Chairs of the HMC

Chairmen of the Headmasters' Conference

The following are the Chairmen of the HMC until 1996.

Chairs of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference

The following are the Chairs of the HMC after 1996.

<*> 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 (the 'annual meeting') until, in 1921, it was agreed that the Chairman of the Annual Meeting should always also be Chairman of the HMC Committee.

  • G Ridding, Head Master, Winchester College, 1870, 1871, 1872
  • Daniel Harper, Head Master, Sherborne School, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878
  • G C Bell, Master, Marlborough College, 1879, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1885, 1886, 1887
  • T W Jex-Blake, Head Master, Rugby School, 1880
  • E C Wickham, Head Master, Wellington College, 1884, 1888
  • E Warre, Head Master, Eton College, 1889, 1893
  • W A Fearon, Head Master, Winchester College, 1891, 1895
  • E Lyttelton, Headmaster, Haileybury, 1898, 1902, 1904
  • H W Moss, Headmaster, Shrewsbury School, 1900
  • J Gow, Head Master, Westminster School, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1911
  • R Cary Gilson, Chief Master, King Edward's School, Birmingham, 1909, 1910
  • F Fletcher, Head Master, Charterhouse, 1913
  • C Lowry, Headmaster, Tonbridge School, 1916
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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Girls' Schools Association

The Girls' Schools Association is a professional membership association representing the heads of independent and state girls' schools in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1874 as the Association of Headmistresses, it is one of the oldest organisations dedicated to girls' education.

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The Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia was founded in 1931 and amalgamated in 1985 with the Association of Independent Headmistresses to form the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. It is the peak body representing the independent schools of Australia.

List of private schools in the United Kingdom

This is an incomplete list of private schools in the United Kingdom. Also refer to the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference for a list of their member schools (boarding and day schools) in the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and the Republic of Ireland.