Andrew William Seymour Hutchings (3 December 1907 – 30 October 1996) was a British

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader. Hutchings studied at

Cotham School Cotham School is a secondary school with academy status in Cotham, a suburb of Bristol, England. The catchment area for this school is Cotham, Clifton, Kingsdown ,southern Redland, Bishopston, St Paul’s and Easton The school shares a sixth fo ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and then

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

, before becoming a teacher. His first appointment was assistant master at

Downside School Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey. Originall ...

in 1929, he then moved to the

Methodist College, Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , principal = Jenny Lendrum , chair_label = Chairwoman , chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth , founder ...

and the Holt School in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Active in the Assistant Masters' Association, he became its full-time assistant secretary in 1936, then its general secretary in 1939.Hutchings, Andrew William Seymour
, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' As leader of the union, Hutchings represented it on a number of other bodies; he was honorary secretary of the Joint Committee of Four Secondary Associations, and served on the executives of the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession, the

Secondary Schools Examinations Council The Secondary Schools Examinations Council (SSEC) was established in England and Wales in 1917. It was succeeded by the Schools Council in 1963. It existed to provide external examinations for secondary schools as recommended by a Consultative Com ...

and the

Schools Council The Schools Council was from 1964 to 1984 the body which co-ordinated secondary school examinations in England and Wales, and advised the government on matters to do with such examinations. It succeeded the Secondary Schools Examinations Council an ...

. He was secretary-general of the

International Federation of Secondary Teachers The International Federation of Secondary Teachers (french: Fédération internationale des professeurs de l'enseignement secondaire officiel, FIPESO) was a global union federation bringing together trade unions representing secondary school teach ...

from 1954 to 1965, then president until 1971, and again from 1972 to 1973. In 1973, he became chair of the

National Foundation for Educational Research The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) is an educational research organisation which gathers evidence and research to inform educational policy and school services. The foundation is not an examination board, however they provi ...

(NFER). In 1978, Hutchings took the union into a merger with the Association of Assistant Mistresses, forming the

Assistant Masters and Mistresses Association The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) was a trade union, teachers' union and professional association, affiliated to the Trades Union Congress, in the United Kingdom representing educators from nursery and primary education to furth ...

, and he served as joint general secretary for the first few months. He then stood down, becoming chair of the executive of the Associated Examining Board. In 1983, he became vice-president of NFER, and he remained involved with the Associated Board, latterly as a vice president.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchings, Andrew 1907 births 1996 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire General Secretaries of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers Trade unionists from Bristol