The late Victorian period was a time of great change for schools across the United Kingdom and, indeed, further afield, particularly including those in Anglosphere and Commonwealth countries. Education had, until such time, been the preserve of the clergy, their families and the children of wealthy landed aristocratic families, typically attending the ancient classical grammar schools that had become household names. These schools were generally established privately with the intention of instructing a select few qualifying or scholarship students alongside fee-paying pupils from the upper classes. Most were boarding. Some attracted admissions from all over the country and some attracted or were specifically limited to students from a defined locality.

A number of new schools were opened to meet the demands of the emergent middle and industrial classes, rich from the great industrial advancements in the UK and who sought a good education for their children. Others were opened to offer an equally prestigious education to children from particular faith background and a few were established to offer a modern, technology and science focussed academies (as opposed to schools in the classical grammar tradition).

The Clarendon Commission was incepted in 1861 with the purpose of exploring how many of these schools were managed, financed and governed. The Commission was established in order to address a number of concerns in the wake of a series of scandals regarding misappropriation of funds and increasingly loud public calls for a more equitable and universal education system for all children. The Commission was to look, particularly, into the so-called “Public Schools”, i.e. those independent schools that offered an education to the children of members of the public as opposed to those from defined socio-demographic groups or communities (such as seminaries or military academies). The term “Public School” was well-established in the English vernacular but was poorly defined and so the Commission sought to clarify further what a Public School was as a part of its wider review.

The Commission took a very narrow view as to what schools should be considered to be “Public Schools”, selecting only those that were: unencumbered by oversight from religious bodies; did not have an obligation stipulated under charter or endowment requiring places be offered to pupils from local communities and; clearly were open to admissions from ably-funded pupils from across the country or further afield (and therefore such schools would have to admit boarders).

The Commission willingly overlooked schools that were established with the expressed aim of offering places on charitable terms to bright children from poor socio-economic backgrounds where those schools had long-since admitted a majority from affluent means and had garnered a reputation as primarily serving the sons of gentlemen. Similarly, the Commission did not consider guild schools to be encumbered to the same extent as those created by a corporation or a religious body.

Controversially, the Commission further narrowed their inquiry into nine ancient schools after alleged lobbying and perceived bias from commission members and others close to them. Those schools included: Charterhouse; Eton College; Harrow School; Merchant Taylors’ School; Rugby School; St Paul’s School; Shrewsbury School; Westminster School; and Winchester College. Collectively, these schools would come to be known as the Great Nine.

These schools formed the subjects of the Commission’s inquiries into what constituted a “Public School”. Ultimately, only those that were boarding schools were defined as Public Schools in for the later Public Schools Act 1868 (thus omitting St Paul’s and Merchant Taylors’). The 1868 Act implemented some of the findings of the Commission’s report and would be used to confer a special status on those schools in later reformations to the provision of secondary education.

Many schools who considered themselves to be peer schools of those reviewed by the Clarendon Commission were aggrieved and concerned by their omission from the Public Schools Act and about their future status and financial viability in the face of sweeping changes in the sector. This was the impetus for the creation of an association and annual conference of headmasters of such schools and was what inspired Mr Thring to invite up to 70 heads of peer schools to attend the inaugurual event.

Of the invited members, 14 accepted with most attending the event. These schools are considered to be the founding members, and includes: Bromsgrove School; Dulwich College; Felsted School; Highgate School; King Edward VI School; The King’s School, Canterbury; Lancing College; Liverpool College; Norwich School; Oakham School; Repton School; Richmond School; Sherborne; Tonbridge School; and Uppingham. However, some of those schools have since closed down or moved into the State-sector and are no longer members of the organisation. All of the Great Nine schools of the Clarendon Commission are members of the HMC.

Whilst the term “Public School” remains poorly defined outside of the Public Schools Act 1868, it is widely accepted that membership of the HMC qualifies a school to be classed as a Public School and boys who attended such schools were automatically candidates for membership of the prestigious East India Club (a famous London gentlemen’s club which has absorbed the Public Schools Club). Traditionally, such schools catered only to boys with very few girls schools in existence at the time of the HMC’s creation. Whilst a number of girls and co-educational schools are now members of the HMC, it was generally the case that girls schools of equivalent status joined the Girls’ Schools Association.

Membership is limited to secondary-level independent schools (private schools) that are subject to inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate or an equivalent body not run as for-profit enterprises and that provide an education somewhat similar to the English public school model. The HMC is one of the member institutions of the Independent Schools Council and so members of the HMC are members of the council too. Since it’s foundation the association has grown to represent hundreds of schools including a number from overseas, particularly India, Australia and Canada (albeit that many of these schools now have domestic associations that offer similar support, status and services). Occasionally the heads of leading schools in the State-sector that have developed a strong reputation for their approach and academic performance may be invited to attend as Associate or Additional Members.

Membership is vested in the head teacher of a qualifying school rather than the school itself and so membership varies as heads retire or leave their posts. The schools below are current members or have been members at some point in the recent past. This is not a membership directory and membership details or status of some schools may not be accurate – for the latest membership details, please check with the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference.