As he prepares to lead a group of so-called ‘invisible’ Scottish teenagers on a life-changing expedition to the Arctic, the Perth-based Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s first Explorer in Residence Craig Mathieson explains why he wants to target youngsters from Dundee, Tayside and Fife next.
As soon as Craig Mathieson answers the phone, it’s clear he’s had a busy morning.
“I’ve been running about frantic,“ he says, sounding out of breath.
“I’ve been out hauling tractor tyres on the St Andrews West Sands all weekend, and I’ve just done three hours in the gym.”
The 47 year-old is no stranger to determination and endurance.
The former military man and mountaineer has expedition experience in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Having been “written off” at high school, he was so determined to follow his childhood dream of becoming a polar explorer that in 2004, he took a break from his job as a tax inspector and booked an $80,000 flight to Antarctica. It was only when he received a bill which gave him 30 days to pay that he contacted businesses to fundraise for the first dedicated Scottish expedition to the South Pole.
This was followed by other expeditions and inspired him to talk in schools.
He told stories of his own explorer heroes like Scott and Shackleton but he was dismayed to discover that many of the kids’ role models were tabloid celebrities, and that they were confusing money with happiness.
It was this realisation that inspired him to launch his charity Polar Academy in 2013.
The academy trains 14 to 18-year-olds who are “invisible and forgotten” like he was in the education system at that age – to go on life-changing expeditions.
On March 25, 10 pupils from five Edinburgh comprehensive schools will set off on an expedition to Arctic Greenland.
And in future he would love to tap into Dundee’s extensive polar heritage by taking selected teenagers on a similar expedition.
The Edinburgh pupils can expect temperatures below -20C. They will also have to haul their own 45kg sledges as they navigate sea ice and mountain passes on cross-country skis, erect their own camps and dig their own latrines, whilst conducting scientific experiments for school projects.
Raised on a council estate in Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire, Craig lives in Bo’ness, West Lothian, with artist wife Michele, and their three kids.
He says those who complete these expeditions will be “changed forever” and will go on to inspire thousands of others. The idea is that if participants speak to their peers, it makes their stories real.
Craig, who became the Perth-based Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s first Explorer in Residence in 2013, says: “At primary school I had an inspirational head teacher called Mr Brown. He gave me a book called The Worst Journey In The World, about Captain Scott’s South Pole expedition. When I was 12, I decided that I wanted to ski to the South Pole. I loved being outside. I would camp out on my own at 10/11, and catch rabbits.
“But when I went to high school, those ambitions were shot down. I spent four years staring out the window.
“I remember my last day at school when I signed my leaver’s form and told my guidance teacher that I was going to be a Polar explorer. She just laughed at me and said: ‘People like you don’t do stuff like that’. I’ve never forgotten those words.”
Craig said that in his opinion a failing of the Scottish education system has been schools’ tendency to focus on the academically high achieving children at one end of the scale and the disruptive element at the other.
But he says it’s often the quiet non-academic ones in the middle like he was who can go unnoticed. And it’s these kids his Polar Academy is targeting, to unlock their potential.
“It’s what I call the invisible kids, or what a lot of teachers call ‘the greys’ because they just fade into the background,“ he adds.
“They just don’t have the confidence to put themselves forward, and think achievement is for someone else. We’ve had some really heart-breaking tales of kids, and their parents, explaining why they wouldn’t even attempt to aspire in life.”
With names put forward by schools, the Polar Academy invites a selected number of teenagers to a tough selection weekend which tests physical and psychological endurance and teamwork at Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore. Craig looks for that “spark” in otherwise quiet teenagers and for the lucky few selected, a tough year of training follows.
It costs £170,000 per expedition, but the Academy does not charge the youngsters a penny. Tiso got on board and equipment firm Bergans of Norway have also backed him.
But Craig would like to see more Scottish business support and would love to target Dundee and other Country Country schools in future.
He adds: “It’s frustrating that in Scotland the first question from many companies is ‘what’s in it for us?’ whereas in Scandinavia the first question is ‘what’s in it for the kids?’ There needs to be a change its attitude.”