Talk:Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference

HMC member=public school?

Can we have a source on this equation "often" being made? Or even of some notable source making it, for starters. Alai 04:10, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

I'd go as far as to say it is without doubt what makes a school a public school. Regardless, I'd say a source is unneccesary, it's a minor thing and to set that kind of precendent would lead to every slight piece of infomation being followed by a source link. Grunners 17:53, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

So the grammar schools on the list are often considered "public schools"? That's obviously not the historic usage, so when did it come into being? It's not that minor a point; given how short the content here is here aside from the lengthy list, and given the definitional and usage controversy at the public school (UK) article, it has some significance in context. Even if there are only low-grade examples of this, I'd at any rate appreciate a talk-page citation or two. Googling for "Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference" and "public school" together gets relatively few hits, and reading past the first couple of pages of wikipedia mirrors, the first I could find that says anything like this is http://www.marijuananews.com. Alai 05:36, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

HMC or GSA membership is a necessary element for a school to be considered a 'Public School', but it is not a sufficient definition. All Public School headmasters/headmistresses belong to HMC (or GSA the Girl's School equivalent), but not all HMC (or GSA) schools are Public Schools. There is the even more pejorative distinction between 'major' and 'minor' Public Schools, but no SHMIS (Society of Headmasters and Headmistresses of Independent Schools) school would be considered even as a minor public school. Westminsterboy 11:30, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

There is a useful discussion at http://www.publicschools.co.uk/ Westminsterboy 13:00, 6 October 2005 (UTC) I thought that was too good - it's largely a mirror of the Wikipedia article cited above. Westminsterboy 15:26, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

It's pretty clear it's necessary, yes, though a citation would be good for that, too. I'm inclined to go with a more cautious wording, but leave the citation-request in place. Alai 04:52, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS

Since a number of the International members were being added I have supplied the complete list of schools. I think it should be all or none, but would accept a consensus that it should be none. Also, if the International list is added should the Additional Members be listed too, or is the link to the HMC website where they can be found sufficient?--Westminsterboy 19:37, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

Twelve accepted the invitation

I have added a list of the original 13:

Twelve accepted the invitation: Edward Thring (Uppingham School), (Bromsgrove School), (Bury St Edmunds), (The King's School, Canterbury), (Felsted School), (Lancing College), (Liverpool College), (Norwich School), (Oakham School), (Repton School), (Richmond), (Sherborne School) and (Tonbridge School). (Source: IndigoSky Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference August 22 2002 on the everything website

Three things that would be nice to have.

1. another more reliable and reputable source(s) for example http://www.bromsgrove-school.co.uk confirms their headmaster was there.
2. What were the names of the other headmasters?
3. What happend (and when,) to the schools in the list which are no longer members of the HMC.

--Philip Baird Shearer 15:24, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

As the number of books electronically scanned by Google grows, so some more details are available easily:

"...colleagues since of the sixty or seventy invited only fourteen accepted the invitation to attend the inaugural meeting at Uppingham. The fourteen who accepted were: Dr Daniel Harper of Sherborne; Dr Steuart Pears of Repton; Dr James Ind Welldon of Tonbridge; Dr George Butler of Liverpool College; Rev. Albert H. Wratislaw of Bury St Edmunds School; Rev. Thomas H. Stokoe of Richmond School; Dr George J. Blore of Bromsgrove School; Rev. Dr William S. Wood of Oakham School; Dr John Mitchinson of King's School, Canterbury; Mr William S. Grignon of Felsted School; Dr Robert E. Sanderson of Lancing College; Dr John B. Dyne of Highgate School; Rev. Augustus Jessop of Norwich School and the Rev. Alfred Carver of Dulwich College. 14 Of these, only twelve attended for the whole conference. Dyne attended on the second day and Carver did not show up at all. Those who did attend the Conference were stalwarts since the weather was particularly inclement judging from exchanged comments between Mitchinson ..."(The educational world of Edward Thring: a centenary study‎ - Page 100, By Donald P. Leinster-Mackay, Published by Falmer Press, 1987)

Note that Dyne of Highgate School was there for only one day and Carver of Dulwich College accepted but did not show up. So the source currently used is also supported by a more reliable source.

"and 'Origins of the Headmasters' Conference', Times Educational Supplement, 7 Oct 1966, p. 775. Bedford, Berkhamsted, Birmingham, Blackheath Proprietary College, Bradfield, Brentwood, Brighton College, Bristol, Bury St Edmunds, Canterbuty, Charterhouse, Cheltenham College, Christ's Hospital, City of London, Clifton College, Dulwich, Durham, Epsom College, Eton, Felsted, Gloucester Cathedral School, Guernsey Queen Elizabeth College, Guildford, Haileybury College, Harrow, Highgate, Ipswich, Isle of Man King William's College, Jersey Victoria College, [Kings?] College (London), Lancaster, Lancing Collage, Liverpool Collage, Liverpool Royal Institute, Magdalen College School, Malvern College, Manchester, Marlborough College, Merchant Taylors', Norwich, Oakham, Oswestry, Radley, Repton, Richmond (Yorks), Rochester Cathedral ... Westminster ..."(The cloistered élite: a sociological analysis of the English public boarding ...‎ - Page 21 By John Wakeford, Published by Praeger, 1969) --PBS (talk) 14:07, 11 April 2009 (UTC)