British Exploring Society
British Exploring Society is a United Kingdom youth-development charity that uses challenging wilderness expeditions, environmental research and outdoor education to help young people build confidence, skills and independence.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
British Exploring Society is a United Kingdom youth-development charity whose work combines wilderness travel, scientific fieldwork, outdoor education and personal development. The organization originated in 1932 as the Public Schools Exploring Society, founded by Surgeon Commander George Murray Levick, a veteran of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s 1910–1913 Antarctic expedition. It was subsequently known as the British Schools Exploring Society and later as BSES Expeditions before adopting the name British Exploring Society in 2012. The society’s central model is to place young people in demanding but structured environments where they must live and work as expedition teams. Participants have historically been drawn from schools, universities and other backgrounds, generally within the 16–25 age range. Expeditions have been led by unpaid or volunteer professionals with experience in outdoor pursuits, teaching, youth work, the armed services and expedition management. The intended outcome is not simply travel or recreation: participants are expected to develop resilience, practical judgment, cooperation, leadership and a stronger sense of personal responsibility through sustained work in remote locations. The organization has traditionally been associated with Arctic exploration and has operated projects in places including the Arctic, Swedish Lapland, Iceland, Newfoundland, the Amazon rainforest, India, Kenya and Papua New Guinea. More recent activity has increasingly focused on the United Kingdom, particularly the Scottish Highlands. Its expeditions have also included environmental and scientific components. Earlier projects gathered field observations and specimens for institutions such as the Natural History Museum and the British Museum. Contemporary work is described as involving universities, scientific researchers, conservation bodies, local organizations and in-country non-governmental organizations. Participants may contribute observations and other data to longer-term research, assist conservation initiatives and take part in community education. The society has a membership structure linked to expedition participation. Young people who complete an expedition can be offered lifelong membership. Historically, members broadly held voting rights, but changes to the charity’s Articles in 2019 limited voting rights principally to governance members, including trustees. This altered the relationship between expedition alumni and formal charity governance while preserving the organization’s emphasis on an enduring alumni community. A major change to the participation model occurred from 2020, when the society stated that young people would no longer pay directly to take part in expeditions. Instead, participants are asked to undertake a personal fundraising target determined through a fair-means assessment. The charity has also worked with organizations such as Catch22 to provide opportunities for disadvantaged or excluded young people. It has reported that more than 90 percent of participants from certain supported programmes progress to training, education or employment, although the available reference material does not provide a methodology or independent verification for that figure. British Exploring Society’s history also includes a serious safety incident. In August 2011, a group of teenagers in Svalbard, Norway, was attacked by a polar bear. Seventeen-year-old Horatio Chapple died and several other participants were injured. Investigations criticized the expedition’s defective firearm and inadequate warning arrangements. A private inquiry commissioned by the society and chaired by a United Kingdom High Court judge concluded that the accident was preventable. In July 2014, however, a coroner cleared the organization of neglect, finding that the failure in question was not total or complete. The society’s alumni include figures from exploration, military service, science, public administration, literature and adventure sport. Cited former participants include author Roald Dahl, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Lewin, Field Marshal Sir John Chapple, geographer and former Ordnance Survey director David Rhind, communications specialist Colin Tongs and mountaineer Tori James. These alumni are part of the organization’s longstanding claim that expedition participation can serve as a foundation for later professional, scientific and public achievement. The society remains an active charity, with its present identity centered on youth development, wilderness experience, environmental responsibility and access to expedition opportunities rather than on commercial travel.
History
British Exploring Society was established in 1932 under the name Public Schools Exploring Society. Its founder, Surgeon Commander George Murray Levick, had participated in Captain Scott’s Antarctic expedition of 1910–1913. The organization was created around the idea that young people could gain unusual educational and character-building benefits by living and working together in demanding outdoor environments rather than receiving adventure only as spectators or tourists. The society later became the British Schools Exploring Society and subsequently BSES Expeditions. In 2012 it adopted the name British Exploring Society, reflecting a broader identity than the earlier school-focused titles. Across its approximately nine decades of activity, it has offered young people from different schools, universities and social backgrounds opportunities to join expeditions in remote environments. Participants have generally been between 16 and 25 years old, while expedition leadership has been supplied by volunteers and unpaid professionals from fields including outdoor education, teaching, youth work, the armed services and expedition operations. Historically, the organization became particularly associated with Arctic work. Its projects also reached the Amazon rainforest, India, Kenya, Papua New Guinea and other challenging environments. Examples associated with its alumni and expedition history include work in Swedish Lapland, Newfoundland and Iceland. The expedition model required participants to share the practical responsibilities of remote living and to undertake collective work under difficult conditions. The society presented these experiences as a route to greater self-knowledge, resilience, independence and leadership. Scientific and environmental activity has been a recurring part of the organization’s history. Earlier expeditions collected field observations and specimens that were provided to major British institutions, including the Natural History Museum and the British Museum. More recent projects have been described as collaborations with universities, scientists, conservation organizations and local non-governmental organizations. Their activities may include gathering objective environmental data, contributing to long-term research, supporting local conservation programmes and assisting community education. In this model, expedition participants are both learners and contributors to field-based work. The organization’s history also includes a major safety controversy. In August 2011, a group of teenagers in Svalbard, Norway, was attacked at night by a polar bear. Horatio Chapple, aged seventeen, died and other members of the group were injured. Norwegian authorities and a private investigation commissioned by the society criticized the firearm available to the expedition and the warning arrangements. The private inquiry, chaired by a United Kingdom High Court judge, judged the accident preventable. In July 2014, a coroner nevertheless cleared the organization of neglect, stating that the relevant failure was not total or complete. The incident remains the most serious and publicly documented crisis in the society’s history. The membership system has also evolved. Young people who successfully complete an expedition can be offered lifelong membership, creating an alumni network that has included military leaders, scientists, civil servants, writers and mountaineers. However, amendments to the charity’s Articles in 2019 changed governance rights: voting rights that had historically been more broadly available became concentrated among governance members, principally trustees. From 2020, British Exploring Society changed its financial-access model. It stated that young people would not pay directly to participate in an expedition. Instead, participants would be given personal fundraising targets adjusted through a fair-means process. The charity has also partnered with organizations such as Catch22 to widen access for disadvantaged and excluded young people. In recent years, its work has increasingly been based in the United Kingdom, especially the Scottish Highlands, while retaining the expedition, environmental and youth-development principles that shaped its earlier international programmes.
- 2020
Direct expedition participation fees removed
[1]The society stated that young people would no longer pay directly to participate, with fundraising expectations adjusted through a fair-means approach.
- 2019
Governance Articles amended
[1]Changes to the charity’s Articles restricted voting rights principally to governance members, including trustees.
- 2014
Coroner’s ruling on the 2011 incident
[1]A coroner cleared the society of neglect after finding that the relevant failure was not total or complete.
- 2012
Organization adopts the British Exploring Society name
[1]The organization moved on from the BSES Expeditions name and adopted its current identity.
- 2011
Svalbard polar bear attack
[1]A polar bear attacked an expedition party in Norway, killing seventeen-year-old Horatio Chapple and injuring several other participants.
- 2000
Tori James takes part in an Iceland expedition
[1]Tori James participated as a young explorer on an expedition to Iceland’s Vatnajökull Glacier.
- 1962
David Rhind joins the Swedish Lapland expedition
[1]David Rhind began his early surveying experience as a young explorer on a 1962 expedition to Swedish Lapland.
- 1950
John Chapple participates in an expedition
[1]The future Field Marshal Sir John Chapple took part in a British Exploring expedition during the 1950s.
- 1938
Lord Lewin participates in a Newfoundland expedition
[1]The future Admiral of the Fleet Lord Lewin took part in a Newfoundland expedition as one of the organization’s early young explorers from a state school.
- 1932
Public Schools Exploring Society founded
[1]Surgeon Commander George Murray Levick established the organization, which was designed to give young people demanding educational experiences through exploration and expedition work.
Products and positioning
A charitable, expedition-led youth-development organization that uses remote wilderness, practical teamwork and environmental research to create lasting personal and educational outcomes. Its positioning combines exploration heritage with widening access, volunteer-led expedition expertise and conservation-oriented fieldwork.
Youth development · 1932
Youth wilderness expeditions
The society’s principal offering is participation in demanding expeditions for young people, generally aged 16–25. Expeditions require participants to live and work together in remote or testing environments and are designed to develop resilience, teamwork, independence and leadership. Locations have included Arctic regions, Iceland, Newfoundland, the Amazon rainforest, India, Kenya, Papua New Guinea and, more recently, the Scottish Highlands.
Research and conservation
Environmental and scientific field projects
Expeditions incorporate field observation and environmental work alongside personal development. Historically, participants collected observations and specimens for British museums. Contemporary projects may support university research, scientific monitoring, conservation programmes and community education in partnership with researchers, local organizations and non-governmental organizations.
Membership
Expedition alumni membership
Young people who successfully complete an expedition can be offered lifelong membership of the society. The membership tradition creates an alumni community that has included people who later worked in exploration, science, public administration, the military, literature and mountaineering.
Controversies
2014
Coroner clears society of neglect
A coroner later cleared British Exploring Society of neglect, ruling that the relevant failure was not total or complete.
2012
Private inquiry criticizes expedition safety arrangements
A private inquiry commissioned by the society and chaired by a United Kingdom High Court judge concluded that the fatal accident was preventable and identified failures involving the firearm and warning procedures.
2011
Svalbard polar bear attack
A polar bear attacked a teenage expedition party at night in Norway, killing seventeen-year-old Horatio Chapple and injuring several others. Investigations criticized the expedition’s defective firearm and inadequate warning arrangements.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020Fundraising-based access model
United Kingdom
The society changed its participation model so that young people would not pay directly for an expedition. Instead, each participant would undertake a personal fundraising target determined through a fair-means assessment.
Outcome. The model was intended to reduce the barrier created by expedition fees while retaining participant contribution to the charity’s fundraising.
- Access programme with Catch22
United Kingdom
British Exploring Society has worked with Catch22 and other organizations to enable disadvantaged or excluded young people to participate in expedition experiences.
Outcome. The society states that more than 90 percent of participants in the relevant supported programmes progress to training, education or employment; the available reference does not provide independent verification or a detailed methodology.
Brand decisions
2020
Remove direct participant expedition feesStrategyBackground
Participation costs could be a barrier for young people seeking access to the society’s programmes.
Action taken
The society stated that participants would no longer pay directly to take part and would instead receive a personal fundraising target based on a fair-means assessment.
Aftermath
The policy positioned fundraising and widening access as central elements of the contemporary participation model.
2019
Concentrate formal voting rights among governance membersStrategyBackground
Historically, the charity’s members had broader voting rights.
Action taken
The Articles were amended so that voting rights were held principally by governance members, including trustees.
Aftermath
The change altered the formal governance role of the wider expedition alumni membership.
2012
Rebrand as British Exploring SocietyStrategyBackground
The organization had previously operated under school-focused names and the BSES Expeditions identity.
Action taken
It adopted British Exploring Society as its current name.
Aftermath
The new name became the organization’s principal public identity while the BSES name remained a historical alias.
Sources2 sources
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