The Annual Meeting of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) takes place from 29 September to 2 October 2014. The HMC encompasses 260 of the leading independent schools in Britain, and a further 63 schools internationally, mainly in countries of the British Commonwealth.
“Independent” means that these schools are independent of the state system of compulsory education. They are otherwise known as “private schools” or – somewhat confusingly – “public schools”. Some are single-sex schools, others are co-educational.
The independent schools represent much of what is valued about British education. Many of them have a long history. Perhaps the most famous boys’ school, Eton College, was founded in 1440. Cheltenham Ladies’ College dates from 1853, which represents a remarkably long period, given the lower priority which used to be given to educating girls. History brings with it traditions, founded on discipline and a strong desire to challenge children to think for themselves.
One of the greatest attractions of the independent schools is that they are not tied to the state system of the National Curriculum, leaving them free to choose their own academic subjects. This means, for example, that the City of London School can now teach Mandarin to all pupils in the first two years of study, with the option to continue beyond this when they make their examination choices. It means also that the schools can be more adventurous when selecting educational visits for their pupils, be it to places of historical or geographical interest during term time, or interesting foreign trips during the holidays.
The independent schools tend to have smaller class sizes – typically around 22 pupils in a class, as opposed to 30 in a state school – and the overall ratio of staff to pupils in the HMC schools is one member of staff for every nine pupils (one to 22 in state schools).
Also, because they are self-funding, the independent schools have much better resources than state schools. Science laboratories have the most up-to-date equipment. And sports facilities may well include a swimming pool and squash courts as well as the more usual football pitches and tennis courts.
Independent schools may be day schools or boarding schools (or have a mixture of day pupils and boarding pupils) and are fee-paying. For some boarding schools the fees may be more than £30,000 per year.
All of the schools, however, have systems in place to provide scholarships for particularly talented children, especially in music or sport; and bursaries, to enable a small number of gifted children from less well-off backgrounds to attend the school.
It is no coincidence that many people in leading positions in British society, notably in business, politics and the judiciary were educated at independent schools. As well as the history and traditions behind these establishments they have a proven track record of instilling into children an awareness of society and a self-confidence which stays with them for life.
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