Philip Britton

Philip Britton, head of foundation at Bolton School, has been appointed as the 2025-26 chair of the HMC.

Britton will step down from his role as chair of the communications committee and join the HMC board as chair elect in September.

Britton took a first in physics at Oxford and did teacher training at Cambridge. He worked as a physics teacher, head of physics and deputy head at Leeds Grammar School. He has been a governor at Stockport Grammar School and is currently one at The Grammar School at Leeds. He became Bolton School’s head of foundation in 2021, having been head of the boys’ division at Bolton since 2008.

Britton said: “I look forward to working with the board and council, as well as all the colleagues who work for HMC, on all that they do for us to support our work as members in schools. One of the great strengths of HMC is the variety of schools in membership, each with a distinctive history and purpose, but collectively just focused on doing our best to give our pupils a great start in life.

“I am conscious the next few years will bring challenges to HMC in representing us all in some very significant national discussions as well as the very important role we will all have collectively in supporting one another in what may be difficult times in leading our schools. I am very happy to be able to do what I can to help that endeavour, as we share our wisdom and also share the empathy we can have for one another. We must always take what we do very seriously, but we must never take ourselves too seriously, and the camaraderie of the HMC is our great strength.”