Q&A: Craig Mathieson of The Polar Academy

We talk to the founder of The Polar Academy, Craig Mathieson about the affects its programme has on the lives of the young people who are chosen to join it..

Imagine yourself as a child who struggles at school, or has trouble making friends, or doesn’t have a stable family unit (or even a family at all)… and then imagine what it would be like to be given a direction, a new group of friends, a supportive environment in which to learn new skills, and the opportunity to travel to another country and environment that is completely different to what you are used to. These are the children that The Polar Academy was set up for, and now, over a decade after its start-up, it is fine-tuning its hugely successful model and even exporting it to other countries.

Founded by Scottish polar explorer Craig Mathieson in 2013, the Polar Academy has a comprehensive selection and vetting programme that aims to find the children that will benefit the most from the unique experience the academy offers. Once chosen, the kids embark on intensive training to teach them the skills they need to survive in the outdoors – and in particular, polar conditions – and this culminates in a full expedition to Greenland during which they can demonstrate the skills they’ve learned and the team mentality that has been instilled in them. We talk to Craig Mathieson about where the idea came from, what the training programme involves, and the affect the programme has on the kids’ (and their families’) lives…

Young people learn all the skills they need to operate in the polar environment

How did the idea for the Polar Academy first come about?
The original idea came to me when I was 12 years old. School wasn’t really the place for me, so I would read lots of books about exploration and travel, especially polar expeditions. I would hope that someone would walk into my school one day looking for volunteers to join a polar expedition, all the time knowing that it would never happen. It was then that I decided that one day I would be the man recruiting for expeditions.

Can you tell us a bit about what being ‘Explorer-in-Residence’ with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society involves?
It was a true honour for me to receive this title from the RSGS. To be honest, it was totally out the blue; I had just started the Polar Academy so it couldn’t have come at a better time. The role really involves helping others with their expeditions, logistics, planning, training etc. The best thing is doing the lectures around the country, as you get to meet some incredible people – the RSGS’s membership and staff are some of the most expedition seasoned and kind
people out there.

What did the first programme or initial activities look like?
The first Polar Academy programme was with two schools in North Lanarkshire. I had no money, no kit, only a plan. The first thing I did was to recruit the young people; that give me the focus and drive to make it a reality. The training and expedition were an unbelievable success; I’ve never looked back since.

Northern Lights light up the sky during this year’s expedition

And how has the programme developed over the years?
We have of course expanded, working with essentially 90 young people and their families per year. In addition, we have a very robust scientific element to our expeditions, working with Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews and Glasgow universities – the team run climate change and statistical experiments while out on the ice, then present back to the universities afterwards. We’ve also run exchange programmes with young Greenlandic children. In fact, we’re working with the Greenlandic authorities to establish Polar Academy Greenland. It will be based on every aspect of what we do (we’ll also be training the Greenlandic trainers); however, instead of doing their expedition on ice, they will be coming to Scotland – it’s a very exciting project.

How do you go about finding suitable kids to join the Academy?
This is a long process. After a school (Head Teacher and Leadership Team) have passed our interview process, which is a pretty intense day, we hold whole school assemblies to explain what we do and who we are looking for. We focus on the ‘invisible kids’, the victims of bullying, abuse, neglect etc, the ones who can’t get help or the normal channels of assistance just haven’t worked for them. We usually get an average of 300-400 kids applying per school. Over a couple of months we work with the staff, interview the kids and parents until we’ve found the 15 kids who need it the most.

How important a role do the kids’ families (or support network) play?
The parents are part of the team from day 1 – they even have to go through our Selection process, a 48-hour course held at Glenmore Lodge. It is pointless changing the life of a young person, then putting them back into a household that doesn’t understand what they’ve achieved. Therefore, parents are involved in every aspect of what we do, apart from the final expedition; I need them to see the change first hand that happening to their children.

Teamwork and friendship are fundamental to The Polar Academy programme

What changes do you see in the kids as they progress though their Polar Academy journey?
We could submit whole papers just on this question along. When we first meet these kids they are broken and in a very dark place – some are even on suicide watch, it’s that bad. We start by building trust and then proving to them how incredible they are by way of our training programme. Their confidence starts to build, fitness and focus gets off the scale, academically they start doing better, families become closer through the shared experience. They now have pride in themselves and plan for the future – they are unstoppable.

Given that they’ve had plenty of training before the expedition, how do the kids then generally react/perform in the expedition environment?
By the time the team is on the ice, they are a slick professional team. Our training is very intensive and challenging. We’ve been dubbed the toughest youth programme in Europe. However, I teach each individual kid in a way that they can understand and they all learn in different ways. Teamwork and kindness to each other is constantly drilled into them. By the time they are on the ice they are insanely fit, excellent navigators, cold weather camping experts and most of all, a very tight group of friends.

Are you still in touch with some of the kids you first had along on the programme, and if so, are there any stand-out stories you can share?
I’m in touch with them all. Nobody leaves the Polar Academy; past graduates return to help us with selection and training. We now have three past graduates training as polar guides with us. We also have a huge selection of teachers, scientists, international rugby players and military personnel – all of them still have a strong passion for the outdoors.

It goes without saying that the right kit is essential in a polar environment – what are the main challenges in that respect?
We never compromise on kit. Where we go we have to have the absolute best kit available and to teach everyone how to use it properly. To be honest, the word ‘cold’ doesn’t get mentioned on our expeditions as all the kids know what kit
to wear according to the conditions. I am a total gear junkie, constantly looking for and testing out new pieces of kit – I love it!

Rab are now supplying clothing and gear for The Polar Academy expeditions

During your career, what have been the major advances when it comes to technical clothing and equipment?
As your readers will know, clothing and equipment is constantly changing which is great for the industry. However, there are certain pieces of clothing that were designed many years ago and they just got it right first time. Using Rab Expedition sleeping bags and Expedition parkas has got me to both the North and South Poles – they are solid pieces of kit. We are lucky to have Asnes as a partner for our skis. These are simply fantastic; every aspect has been tried and tested in the most hostile environments; they’ve never let me down.

You are now partnering with Rab; what does that involve and do you help in the development on future products?
Being partnered with Rab is a dream come true. It’s still at the early stages but they have provided us with expedition sleeping bags, sleeping mats as well as a stack of other kit. However, just to be associated with such a great company as Rab is really important to me; they constantly strive to improve and innovate their kit. One thing that really stands out to me when working with Rab is the pride the staff have in their products. They are obviously a tight team with great values, so I’m really looking forward to a great future with them.

Is there a ‘holy grail’ product that you would love to see developed for use in the polar environment?
I constantly make wee notes when on expedition on kit improvements. I’ve got so many things I would like to get developed – whether it’s tents/clothing/stoves etc.

What are the Polar Academy’s aims for the future?
Simple – to help more kids and their families. We have plans to expand into other countries, starting with Finland next year.

More info at: www.thepolaracademy.org and www.rab.equipment