HMC (or the Heads’ Conference) is an association of Headteachers drawn from some of the world’s best schools. Founded in 1869, it was the world’s first Heads’ association, and its name derives from the annual meeting of members at ‘Conference’. Recently, Dr. Simon Hyde, General Secretary of the HMC travelled to Northern Ireland to meet with schools in the Region.

Dr. Hyde had the pleasure of meeting a Year 10 class and the pupils what they enjoy about attending Campbell. The boys provided a long list and spoke at length about what a Campbell education means to them. We thought you might appreciate learning more about what they discussed and thanks to Year 10 pupils Russell (School), David (Price's), Matthew (Yates's), Torin (Allison's) for agreeing to share their views with us.

"During the pandemic, we were so lucky to already have our tasks, assigments and emails on the Firefly system. I know that a lot of schools did not have any digital set up and so it was much easier for us to continue with learning during all the disruption. I also realized how social the school is, I really missed the day to day life of the school"

"I joined Campbell at Year 8 and noticed straight away how good the teaching is here. Teachers go out of their way to make sure you understand the lessons and will give you extra help if you need it"

"It is great that we can interact with Junior School and we can help boys who are younger than us. We wouldn't be able to do that if we were at a regular secondary school"

"At my last school, everything we learned was in the textbook and we didn't go beyond that. Here, there is a lot more time to discuss topics in the class, it is much more fun and you learn so much"

"I really like that we have a boarding house and have pupils from around the world. This makes school more diverse and it's interesting to have these connetions that we wouldn't have in a regular school"

"I used to go to a mixed school and I was asked how an all boy's school compares. I can't say I have really noticed a difference!"

"There are so many more opportunities for sports and extra curriculars. At Campbell I have been involved in a lot of sports and House competitions. Being in a House is a lot of fun and you get to know boys older and younger than you which is great"

As you can see, our boys really enjoyed telling Dr. Hyde about life at Campbell, clearly they are all proud Campbellians!

More about the HMC

Currently, 300 Heads in the UK and Ireland are members of HMC, with an additional 60 international members. HMC schools educate over 250,000 students in the UK (or roughly half of all independently educated pupils). Our schools vary in size and structure, from world famous boarding schools to outstanding day schools, often set in our great cities. A rigorous accreditation process helps to ensure and maintain quality and HMC schools are all committed to outreach and partnership work.

The HMC exists to serve and support its members, to represent their views and to exemplify excellence in education. Its head office team is led by the General Secretary, Dr Simon Hyde, a former member and school governor. Much of the strength of HMC derives from the participation of members and their schools in the association’s work. HMCPD provides extensive and high-quality training for senior and middle school leaders and runs conferences for deputy heads, heads of sixth form and the heads of junior schools. The association is active in developing and maintaining relations with a range of educational partners and stakeholders from government to examination boards. It works to encourage and share innovation both within and outside the independent sector as well as to promote and protect the independence of our schools.