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Field Studies Council

69 /100

Clarity score

Needs improvement

Charity accounts, evidence & financial rating

69/100 Clarity Score · 3 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score

Register checked 4 October 2026 · latest accounts 2024

Official regulator data
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Quick answer

Is Field Studies Council a good charity?

Field Studies Council scores 69/100 (3 stars, Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2024 (£19m total income, 96% cause spend, 3-yr avg). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.

Income

£19m

Accounts 2024-12-31

Spending

£19m

Accounts 2024-12-31

Charitable activities

96%

3-yr avg · share of spending

Accounts filing

On time

Charity Commission

On this pageJump to a section
Shrewsbury · UK-wide · SY4 1HW Reg 313364 Registered charity Official website Charity Commission register

What does Field Studies Council do?

Our charitable activities are the 'bringing of environmental understanding to all'. We do this by the advancement of outdoor education, the protection of the environment and the pursuit of field studies.

Activities reported by the charity on the official register · extract . This is separate from the accounts data used for its rating.

Field Studies Council hasn't added a description directly to CharityCompare yet. Work here? Add it free →

How much does Field Studies Council raise and spend?

Accounts period 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Source: Charity Commission filings

Field Studies Council revenue and expenses for 2024
Category Amount % of spend
Total income £19m —
Total expenditure £19m —
Charitable activities £18m 96%
Fundraising £700k 4%
Reported governance £38k 0%

Governance can already be allocated within other expenditure categories. It is not a separate measure of all administration costs; do not add these rows without checking the accounts notes.

What changed in Field Studies Council’s latest accounts?

Reported totals for 2024 compared with 2023. Changes can reflect the accounting period, restricted grants or restructuring as well as the charity’s work.

Income change
+6.5%
£18m → £19m
Spending change
+11.1%
£17m → £19m
Charitable activities share
−0.0 pp
96% → 96% · percentage points

These are annual figures. The Clarity Score may use averages across several disclosed years. Source: official accounts.

96%On charitable activities

Where does the money go?

Latest accounts (2024) · £19m spent

  • Charitable activities96%
  • Fundraising4%

Charities usually allocate governance costs across their other spending categories, and these reported figures add up to more than total spending, so governance is not drawn as a separate slice. The accounts table shows it separately.

From the annual return

What does Field Studies Council pay its staff, and where does its money come from?

Answers Field Studies Council gave in its annual return to the Charity Commission for the year ending 31 December 2025, plus its register entry. These are the charity's own disclosures, not part of the Clarity Score.

How much are Field Studies Council's highest-paid staff paid?

Field Studies Council's annual return for the year ending 31 December 2025 reports 9 employees paid more than £60,000, including 4 employees paid more than £100,000. The highest reported pay band is £150,001–£200,000 (1 employee).

Field Studies Council employees paid over £60,000, by salary band
Salary bandEmployees
£150,001–£200,000 1
£100,001–£110,000 3
£70,001–£80,000 1
£60,001–£70,000 4

The register reports headcounts in salary bands, not names. The chief executive's pay is normally disclosed in the remuneration note of the trustees' annual report.

Where does Field Studies Council's money come from?

Field Studies Council reported £18m total income for the year ending 31 December 2025. The largest sources were charitable activities £15m (83%), trading and fundraising events £1.5m (8%), donations and legacies £861k (5%). Legacies (gifts in wills) contributed £370k.

  • Charitable activities (fees and contracts) £15m · 83%
  • Trading and fundraising events £1.5m · 8%
  • Donations and legacies £861k · 5%
  • Other income £488k · 3%
  • Investments £209k · 1%

Cash at year end: £3.9m · unrestricted funds: £15m · restricted funds: £973k. Restricted funds can only be spent on purposes set by the donor.

Can I claim Gift Aid, and are the trustees paid?

The register records Field Studies Council as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration. Work out your Gift Aid

Field Studies Council's annual return for the year ending 31 December 2025 reports that no trustee received remuneration or other benefits from the charity.

Registration details

Registered as a charity
Company number
00412621 (Companies House)
Also known as
F S C
Where it says it operates
Throughout England and Wales · Scotland · Northern Ireland

Source: Charity Commission register and annual return data, Open Government Licence v3.0. A blank answer in the return is shown as not reported, never as “no”.

How have Field Studies Council's finances changed over five years?

Income rose 97% from £9.5m in 2020 to £19m in 2024; spending was £19m in 2024.

£0 £5.0m £10m £15m £20m 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Income 2020: £9.5m Spending 2020: £13m Cause spend 2020: £12m Income 2021: £12m Spending 2021: £14m Cause spend 2021: £14m Income 2022: £17m Spending 2022: £16m Cause spend 2022: £15m Income 2023: £18m Spending 2023: £17m Cause spend 2023: £16m Income 2024: £19m Spending 2024: £19m Cause spend 2024: £18m
  • Income
  • Spending
  • Cause spend
Field Studies Council income and spending by accounts year
Year Income Spending Charitable activities
2024 £19m £19m £18m
2023 £18m £17m £16m
2022 £17m £16m £15m
2021 £12m £14m £14m
2020 £9.5m £13m £12m

Cause spend is plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission filings

How does Field Studies Council compare?

The share of each group scoring at or below Field Studies Council, including tied scores. A group matched on cause, income band and accounts year appears when at least ten records qualify. Broader groups below may mix reporting periods and operating models. Groups include this charity; percentiles measure our financial rating, not impact.

Same cause, income band and accounts year (2024) 50thpercentile

Scores at or above 50% of 10 charities with the same primary cause, income band and latest accounts year · 69/100 vs 69 peer average.

Income band (£10m+) 23rdpercentile

Scores at or above 23% of 930 charities in its income band · 69/100 vs 77 peer average.

Environment charities 40thpercentile

Scores at or above 40% of 458 charities in this cause · 69/100 vs 72 peer average.

Where Field Studies Council sits

The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.

Evidence and interpretation

What the evidence says about Field Studies Council

In 2024, reported income was £18,669,723 and expenditure was £18,629,421. Income exceeded expenditure by £40,302. This annual balance is not the charity’s available cash or unrestricted reserves.

More financial context

Income rose 6.5% compared with 2023. Read the accounts notes for restricted grants, legacies and one-off receipts before treating the movement as a trend.

Calculated from our dated accounts dataset, refreshed 2026-09-06. This is not an audit or a manual review of every filing. Original register and accounts · How calculations work.

Find the right support

Who it supports and how to access its work

Reported beneficiaries: Children/young People; The General Public/mankind.

How it works: Provides Buildings/facilities/open Space; Provides Services.

Use the official contact details to check eligibility, referrals, waiting lists and current service coverage. Broad register classifications and a contact address do not confirm that a particular service is available to you.

Explore source-checked support routes

Classifications supplied to the register; extract 2026-10-04. Register contact and activity details · Website listed for this charity

Look beyond the score

Results and impact evidence

We have not added a source-checked programme outcome for this charity. That is a gap in this profile, not evidence that the charity has no impact. Its annual report may contain results that have not been assessed here.

Reported grants to institutions: £0 (2024-12-31). This is spending reported in the annual return, not a measure of beneficiary outcomes or an open grant opportunity. It may already be included in charitable expenditure. Check the source accounts.

What these results can tell you

Counts of services delivered describe activity. They do not by themselves establish lasting change, what would have happened without the programme, or cost-effectiveness. Results with different definitions, populations or years should not be ranked against each other.

How to judge charity impact evidence

What is Field Studies Council's Beacon report?

Detailed accountability and finance metrics from UK regulator filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.

Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

100/100

Accountability & Transparency metrics for Field Studies Council
Metric Score Value
Filing history (5 years)

No recorded lateness in available history = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more or unknown status = 0 pts. Missing data is not proof of late filing.

100% 15/15 pts
Trustee oversight

Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three).

100% 16 trustees · 15/15 pts
Declared policies

Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return.

100% 10/10 pts

Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

30/100

Financial Health metrics for Field Studies Council
Metric Score Value
Reserves (months of expenditure)

3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years = 0 pts. Reserves are not necessarily cash; needs vary by operating model.

0% 0 months · 0/15 pts
Income stability / growth

+20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between.

70% 7/10 pts · 3-year average
Liabilities to assets

0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt.

40% 35% · 2/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

100/100

Financial Efficiency metrics for Field Studies Council
Metric Score Value
Program expense ratio

90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below.

100% 96% · 10/10 pts (3-year average)
Fundraising efficiency

≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income).

100% 4p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average, disclosed years)

Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

0/100

Community Support metrics for Field Studies Council
Metric Score Value
Volunteer-to-staff ratio

Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between.

0% 15 volunteers / 297 staff · 0/10 pts

How we calculate beacon scores →

What trust indicators does Field Studies Council have?

Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.

  • Accounts filed on time

    up to date · last filing

  • Trustee board size (3–12)

    16 trustees on the Charity Commission register

  • Workforce on register

    297 employees · 15 volunteers (0:1 volunteer-to-staff)

Fundraising Regulator

Status not yet checked

Separate from our financial scores. Registration records a commitment to the Code of Fundraising Practice; it does not certify every fundraising activity.

Check Fundraising Regulator →

Official register

Reg 313364

Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.

View on Charity Commission →

Trustees & officers

  • Gill Miller since 2013
  • Prof PETER HIGGINS since 2015
  • Jeff Sissons Chair · since 2018
  • Amanda Craig since 2019
  • Nicholas Peter O'Loughlin since 2022
  • Dr Ruth Copeland-Phillips since 2024
  • Keith Goddard since 2024
  • Christopher Brook since 2024
  • David Westgate since 2024
  • Delia Garratt since 2024
  • Nicola Lynes since 2024
  • Jane Elizabeth Eckford since 2025

How reliable is Field Studies Council's data?

Source
Charity Commission (England & Wales)
Accounts year
2024
Filing date
Data refreshed

High confidence — complete filing data

Scores reflect the accounts in our dated data extract. The live register may contain newer filings. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.

Check the current register entry · Report a data correction

Financial source extract: 2026-09-06. Organisation identifier: 313364. Method version: 1.1. View method changes.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: Charity Commission for England and Wales, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Open Government Licence v3.0 .

Your donation decision

What should you check before donating to Field Studies Council?

  1. 1. Match the name and charity number

    Check 313364 on the official register. A real charity number alone does not prove that a fundraiser or appeal is authentic.

    Verify the registration →
  2. 2. Read the accounts in context

    Our latest accounts data covers 2024. Compare the accounts period, spending and reserves. An administration cost ratio alone cannot tell you how effective a charity is.

    Explore the financial evidence →
  3. 3. Look for evidence of results

    Read the trustees’ annual report for activities, outcomes and limitations. The Clarity Score measures public reporting; it does not establish the impact of a donation.

    How to read charity accounts →
  4. 4. Compare charities serving your cause

    Compare up to four charities, check the dates behind their figures, and decide which work you want to support. Complete your donation through a verified charity channel.

    Start a comparison with Field Studies Council →
How we score charities +

The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.

Full methodology →

Accountability & Transparency

Scored from filings

40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).

Financial Health

Scored from filings

30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).

Financial Efficiency

Scored from filings

20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).

Community Support

Scored from filings

10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.

Overall score

Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Field Studies Council's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

Is Field Studies Council a good charity? +

Field Studies Council scores 69 out of 100 (3 stars — Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 96% of its spending goes to charitable activities (3-yr avg) and its accounts are up to date. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.

Is Field Studies Council a legitimate charity? +

The register data used for this profile lists Field Studies Council as a registered charity (charity number 313364). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=313364&subId=0. Check the current entry and the identity of anyone requesting money. Registration does not verify a particular appeal; Clarity Score summarises filing transparency, not programme impact.

What is Field Studies Council's charity number? +

Field Studies Council's charity number is 313364. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals.

What is Field Studies Council's charity rating? +

Field Studies Council scores 69 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars — Needs improvement). The Clarity Score (method v1.1) sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking.

Does Field Studies Council have reviews and complaints? +

CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Field Studies Council. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (none flagged on this profile). For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.

How much of my donation reaches Field Studies Council? +

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, 96% of Field Studies Council's total spending went to charitable activities (3-yr avg across disclosed years). That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift.

What are Field Studies Council's overheads? +

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, fundraising costs were about 4% of total expenditure and fundraising plus separately reported governance figures amount to about 4% of expenditure (2022–2024, disclosed years); these categories can overlap, so this is not a distinct total of all administration costs at Field Studies Council. Field Studies Council's annual return for the year ending 31 December 2025 reports 9 employees paid more than £60,000, including 4 employees paid more than £100,000. The highest reported pay band is £150,001–£200,000 (1 employee). Individual salaries, including the chief executive's, are disclosed in the trustees' annual report rather than on the register.

How much income does Field Studies Council receive? +

Field Studies Council reported £19m total income in its 2024 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing.

Are Field Studies Council's accounts up to date? +

Filing status: up to date (last filing 2025-09-25). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.

Where is Field Studies Council based? +

Field Studies Council's registered contact address is in Shrewsbury (SY4 1HW). It tells the regulator it operates in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, with a focus on environment.

How much is Field Studies Council's chief executive paid? +

The Charity Commission register does not name individual salaries. Field Studies Council's annual return for the year ending 31 December 2025 reports 9 employees paid more than £60,000, including 4 employees paid more than £100,000. The highest reported pay band is £150,001–£200,000 (1 employee). Charities normally disclose the chief executive's pay, or the pay of their highest-paid staff, in the remuneration note of the trustees' annual report and accounts.

Where does Field Studies Council's money come from? +

Field Studies Council reported £18m total income for the year ending 31 December 2025. The largest sources were charitable activities £15m (83%), trading and fundraising events £1.5m (8%), donations and legacies £861k (5%). Legacies (gifts in wills) contributed £370k.

Can I claim Gift Aid on a donation to Field Studies Council? +

The register records Field Studies Council as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration.

Are Field Studies Council's trustees paid? +

Field Studies Council's annual return for the year ending 31 December 2025 reports that no trustee received remuneration or other benefits from the charity.

When was Field Studies Council registered as a charity? +

Field Studies Council was entered on the register on 12 September 1963. It is also a company registered at Companies House (company number 00412621).

How does CharityCompare score Field Studies Council? +

We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Field Studies Council's regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought.

How often is this page updated? +

This profile was last updated on 6 September 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and Field Studies Council's most recent accounts cover 2024. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.