01 Identity
Scottish charity record
- OSCR charity number
- SC044605
- Status
- Active
- Regulatory type
- Standard
- Designated religious body
- No
- Geographical spread
- Operations cover all or most of Scotland
- Volunteers
- 1-50 volunteers
- Staff
- 4
- Postcode
- EH51 9BH
02 Purpose and work
What the charity exists to do
We work with 13–18-year-olds with mental well-being challenges or lacking self-esteem and confidence. We give them an intensive 1 year physical and mental training programme culminating in a winter sledge hauling expedition in the Arctic, which changes the mindset of the young people as well as their families, schools, communities, and positively impacts the local economy. Our model is built around an 18-month planning schedule for each annual intake of young people where we liaise closely and responsibly with schools, mostly in deprived areas, teachers, parents/ carers, and the community. We provide pastoral care and personal support to every kid and family we work with from when they start the programme, to its completion, and often beyond their adolescence.
Charitable purposes
- the advancement of education
- the advancement of health
- the advancement of citizenship or community development
- the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science
Beneficiaries
- Children or young people
- No specific group, or for the benefit of the community
Activities
- It carries out activities or services itself
Constitutional objectives
The SCIO is established for charitable purposes only and the SCIO’s principal purpose is for the benefit of the public in Scotland and elsewhere to advance: 5.1 education. 5.2 citizenship and community development. 5.3 science. and 5.4 health by inspiring young adults to achieve their goals and its activities in furtherance of those purposes will include delivering motivational school talks, the provision of training courses, the provision of expeditions to the Polar regions and the creation of a new generation of community role models.
03 Annual returns
Income and expenditure history
| Year end | Total income | Donations | Charitable activities income | Trading income | Investment income | Other income | Total expenditure | Raising funds | Charitable activities spending | Other spending | Staff | Return received |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2025 | £598,868 | £598,234 | £0 | £0 | £634 | £0 | £537,631 | £9,542 | £528,089 | £0 | 4 | 17 December 2025 |
| 31 March 2024 | £496,094 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £460,928 | £0 | £0 | £0 | 4 | 3 October 2024 |
| 31 March 2023 | £328,079 | £327,369 | £0 | £0 | £234 | £476 | £249,499 | £966 | £248,533 | £0 | 4 | 8 December 2023 |
| 31 March 2022 | £487,391 | £487,377 | £0 | £0 | £14 | £0 | £417,660 | £2,158 | £415,502 | £0 | 4 | 4 November 2022 |
| 31 March 2021 | £306,356 | £303,970 | £2,364 | £0 | £22 | £0 | £193,350 | £6,709 | £184,692 | £1,949 | 4 | 30 November 2021 |
Figures are those reported by the charity and supplied in the OSCR bulk download. Blank facts remain distinct from zero.
04 Contact record
Principal office or trustees address
- Address supplied to OSCR
- 43 Dean Road, Bo'ness
- Website supplied to OSCR
- www.thepolaracademy.org
- Parent charity
- Not supplied
No direct external links on this profile. The official OSCR record and source documentation are available through BritDB’s dedicated source page.
05 Provenance
Source for this profile
© Crown Copyright and database right 2026. Contains information from the Scottish Charity Register supplied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. BritDB is an independent service and does not claim to be the Scottish Charity Register.