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, and 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 Kenneth Durham, Headmaster of University College School, and the current general secretary is Geoff Lucas.
Membership of the HMC is often considered as what defines a school as a public school in England and Wales, giving it a higher status than a private schools. Not all "public schools" are in the HMC; in particular, many notable girls' schools, including Cheltenham Ladies' College, Wycombe Abbey, Roedean School and Benenden School, are not members, partly because historically the HMC was intended for boys' schools only. The large number of coeducational member schools are mostly historically boys' school or have resulted from a merger between a boys' school and a girls' school.
Read more about this topic: Headmasters' And Headmistresses' Conference
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