Arts & culture · Reg 1185265
National Oceanography Centre
Charity rating & review
80/100 Clarity Score · 4 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Good
Quick answer
Is National Oceanography Centre a good charity?
National Oceanography Centre scores 80/100 (4 stars, Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2024 (£86m total income, 97% of spending on charitable activities). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.
Donate
How can you give to NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE?
You leave CharityCompare to complete a donation on the official NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE form. We do not process payments or take commission. Opens their official online donation form.
What does National Oceanography Centre do?
National Oceanography Centre is a registered charity (no. 1185265) working in arts & culture across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 97% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 3 months of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been broadly stable over recent years. CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes.
Summarised from public filings — National Oceanography Centre hasn't added its own description yet. Work here? Add it free →
In short: NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE scores 80 out of 100 (4 stars). 97% average program spend (3-year average). Filings are up to date with no major concerns.
What is National Oceanography Centre?
National Oceanography Centre has a Clarity Score of 80 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars, Good). Charity Commission registration number 1185265. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Arts & culture. Latest accounts year 2024: total income £86m, with 97% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 3 months of operating costs. No major red flags from our filing review. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.
Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .
Overall score
80/100
4★ · Good
Cause spend
97%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
93/100
Finance beacon
Income
£86m
Latest year 2024
Reserves
3 mo
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
On time
Charity Commission
£47.7 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 3% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high
How does NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE compare?
Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE scores higher than.
Scores higher than 58% of 943 charities in its income band · 80/100 vs 77 peer average (marker).
Scores higher than 61% of 624 charities in this cause · 80/100 vs 76 peer average (marker).
How reliable is National Oceanography Centre's data?
- Source
- Charity Commission (England & Wales)
- Accounts year
- 2024
- Filing date
- Profile reviewed
High confidence — complete filing data
Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.
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 .
What is National Oceanography Centre'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.
93/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Filing history (5 years) 100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts. | 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% | 9 trustees · 15/15 pts |
| Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 70% | 7/10 pts |
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
77/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 100% | 3 months · 15/15 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. | 20% | 51% · 1/5 pts |
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 100% | 97% · 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% | 2p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average) |
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
0/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between. | 0% | Not reported · 0/10 pts |
What is National Oceanography Centre's Clarity Score?
80/100 total · Good · 4 of 5 stars
Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
93/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
77/100
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
100/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
0/100
How much does National Oceanography Centre raise and spend?
Latest filed year 2024 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £86m | — |
| Total expenditure | £82m | — |
| Charitable activities | £79m | 97% |
| Fundraising | £2.6m | 3% |
| Governance & admin | £464k | 1% |
Where does the money go?
Latest accounts (2024) · £82m spent
- Charitable activities97% · £79m
- Fundraising3% · £2.6m
- Governance1% · £464k
What trust indicators does National Oceanography Centre 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)
9 trustees on the Charity Commission register
Fundraising Regulator
Status not yet checked
Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice.
Check Fundraising Regulator →Official register
Reg 1185265
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- Professor Sir Ian Lamont Boyd since 2019
- David Jeremy Darroch Chair · since 2022
- David Keith McSweeney since 2024
- Clare Mary Petre Harbord since 2024
- Dr HOSEIN KHAJEH-HOSSEINY since 2025
- John Francis Clarke since 2025
- Professor Lisa Maureen Collins since 2025
- Sir MICHAEL DIXON KBE BSC since 2024
- Rebecca Jane Munro since 2025
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.
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.
How have National Oceanography Centre's finances changed over five years?
- Income
- Spending
- Cause spend
Values in £ thousands · Cause spend plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission accounts
What are the key facts about National Oceanography Centre?
- Overall score
- 80/100 (4★)
- Income
- £86m
- Cause spend
- 97% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 1185265
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- 3 months
- Trustees
- 9
- Accounts year
- 2024
- Filing
- up to date
How does NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE compare, and where else can you look?
Where NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE sits
The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.
Similar arts & culture charities
Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score
- HACKNEY QUEST 100/100 · £827k
- COMMON WEALTH THEATRE LIMITED 100/100 · £760k
- PALLANT HOUSE GALLERY 99/100 · £3.0m
- CREATE (ARTS) LIMITED 99/100 · £1.6m
How can you share National Oceanography Centre's rating?
Opens a printer-friendly view of this profile for National Oceanography Centre.
For this charity
How do you add National Oceanography Centre's rating to your site?
Free to use — a lightweight HTML badge or an embeddable score widget, each linking back to this independent profile and our methodology.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about National Oceanography Centre's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
Is National Oceanography Centre a good charity? +
National Oceanography Centre scores 80 out of 100 (4 stars — Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 97% of its spending goes to charitable activities 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 National Oceanography Centre a legitimate charity? +
Yes — National Oceanography Centre is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 1185265). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1185265. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.
What is National Oceanography Centre's charity number? +
National Oceanography Centre's charity number is 1185265. 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 National Oceanography Centre's charity rating? +
National Oceanography Centre scores 80 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars — Good). The Clarity Score V1 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 National Oceanography Centre have reviews and complaints? +
CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for National Oceanography Centre. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts. For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.
How much of my donation reaches National Oceanography Centre? +
According to its 2024 regulator filing, 97% of National Oceanography Centre'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 National Oceanography Centre's overheads? +
According to its 2024 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 3% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 3% of total expenditure at National Oceanography Centre. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what National Oceanography Centre's chief executive is paid — where disclosure rules apply, senior pay appears in the trustees' annual report on the Charity Commission register.
How much income does National Oceanography Centre receive? +
National Oceanography Centre reported £86m total income in its 2024 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: stable.
Are National Oceanography Centre's accounts up to date? +
Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.
Where is National Oceanography Centre based? +
National Oceanography Centre is listed at Southampton · UK-wide · SO14 3ZH and operates UK-wide, focused on arts & culture.
How does CharityCompare score National Oceanography Centre? +
We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in National Oceanography Centre'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 17 July 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and National Oceanography Centre'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.