Headmasters' Conference

The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference

Leading Independent Schools
Abbreviation	HMC
Formation	1869
Type	Non-governmental organisation
Purpose	Educational accreditation
Headquarters	Market Harborough
Location	Market Harborough, Leicestershire
Region served	United Kingdom
Membership	281 schools
General Secretary	William Richardson
Affiliations	ISC
Website	hmc.org.uk

The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the headmasters or headmistresses of 283 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools) in the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and the Republic of Ireland. For 2016/2017 the average day fees at a UK HMC school are £4,639 per term or £13,917 per annum. For 2016/2017 the average full boarding fees at a UK HMC school are £10,709 per term or £32,127 per annum. There are also International Members (mostly from the Commonwealth) and 30 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.

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 (Bromsgrove), Albert Wratislaw (Bury St Edmunds), John Mitchinson (The King's School, Canterbury), William Grignon (Felsted), Robert Sanderson (Lancing College), George Butler (Liverpool College), Augustus Jessopp (Norwich School), William Wood (Oakham), Steuart Pears (Repton), T. H. Stokoe (Richmond), Daniel Harper (Sherborne), and James Welldon (Tonbridge). 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. It changed its name from the "Headmasters' Conference" to the "Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference" in 1996. The current Chairman is Christopher King, Headmaster of Leicester Grammar School, and the current general secretary is William Richardson.