John Vessey outlines the many benefits of a gap-year, providing it is well planned

The gap-year, or year out (actually fifteen months) between school and university, is well established and broadly accepted as a right of passage for young people entering higher education. Most 18-year-olds benefit from a well-planned break from studying and family. The gap can provide powerful incentives and rich rewards for those seeking a good university place, a successful career start and a more balanced and mature outlook on life. But to utilise the full potential of this valuable period, early and shrewd action is required.

Electing to take a gap-year means deciding on the mode of application to university. The choice is usually between deferred entry and post A level entry. The former provides security, the latter perhaps greater clarity and motivation. Which to choose rests on personal preference and the policy of the academic department concerned. Very occasionally there is resistance to a year out but the positive impact on an intending undergraduate is now almost universally accepted as beneficial – provided that an interesting and useful project is planned. If seeking deferred entry to an Oxford or Cambridge college, the attitude of the tutor for admissions is crucially important.

As every university applicant is invited to write a personal statement on the UCAS form, this is the ideal place to justify the reasons for taking a gap-year. A compelling case can often sway even the die-hards, so this is not the moment for mental truancy.
 
By almost any measure the gap-year offers a unique opportunity to prepare for some of life’s sternest tests: an arduous academic course, starting a career, entering adulthood and responsible citizenship. All too often this opportunity is squandered through a lack of forethought and the usual teenage reticence to take advice – not to mention beckoning hedonistic sub-cultures from the other side of the world.

Why should the preparations for a gap-year be taken so seriously? How is it made worthwhile? What will be the value and the cost? And where is the best place to obtain impartial advice and sound guidance?

Early, realistic and imaginative planning is essential otherwise the substantial benefits drain away into the sand. The most worthwhile gap-years usually contain at least four significant elements: skills training, work experience, voluntary work and independent travel.

A few weeks spent upgrading their competence in computers, languages, professional or personal skills will increase a student’s chances of obtaining more rewarding and better paid work experience – valuable funds for travel later in the year.
 
Work experience allows young people to observe what they might encounter if they took a particular career path. It also provides the opportunity to practice and demonstrate initiative, decision-making, problem-solving, teamwork and business awareness; all of which build self-confidence and maturity – the very attributes for which employers are looking. And where mutual respect is established it could lead to offers of an internship during university vacations, and, better still, recruitment on graduation. A wide range of jobs is available, only a lack of imagination and initiative limit the choice.

Altruism is alive and healthy among today’s youth. Voluntary work either in the UK or abroad should benefit both those who give and those who receive. Devoting time to helping others cuts more ice than cavorting round the world, but undertaken in areas where most of the psychological props of modern industrial society are absent, the volunteer is likely to face a level of culture shock not previously experienced. A need for sensitivity, flexibility, enterprise and courage is called for, but volunteers overwhelmingly concede that the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices.

Independent travel is generally what most students have in mind for their year out: they want to meet new people and experience the world in all its variety and excitement. But to achieve its purpose, gap-year travel should have specific aims and objectives. The benefits of exercising the mind on a journey of discovery are frequently overlooked. The strong desire to break free and be independent, together with the attendant risks can make for anxious times among parents counselling wise judgement. But young people will never learn to manage risk until they are exposed to it, so the gap-year is an ideal time for them to take the plunge. Mistakes will be made, but by taking their own decisions they have to face the consequences. It is a powerful education and often they return home almost unrecognisable with new self-confidence and maturity.

Travel broadens the mind but it also loosens the bowels. There are risks but they are manageable. Before travelling it makes sense to ask advice and seek training to ensure a safe and healthy journey. The plague most likely to lay a traveller low is not an exotic disease or venomous creature but diarrhoea and dehydration – this normally harmless discomfort at home can totally ruin travel plans abroad. Sensible precautions such as the correct inoculations, protection against malaria and care over water and food, among other problems, are essential in tropical countries.

The perceived cost of a gap-year when viewed alongside university fees can be daunting but it need not mean ending up heavily in debt. No son or daughter should expect parents to pay for their year out. One purpose of work experience is to earn the cash to pay for a volunteer placement and travel. With a little ingenuity the talented, hardworking and hard-saving gapper should easily be able to bank sufficient to make the year largely self-financing – and possibly even have a little over for university. Some will argue that the lost year of employment is a disadvantage. On the contrary, the skills and experience gained during an enterprising gap will more than compensate with higher starting salary and better prospects of promotion.

A well-spent year out has the potential to be the most formative in a young person’s life, often bringing out the best in them. On the other hand, poorly prepared it can degenerate into a waste of time. Inadequate planning is common, but inexcusable when expert help is at hand. The secret is to take professional advice to tailor an exciting and practical programme to suit the individual’s needs. The wise will see the further benefits of training to prepare for the challenges ahead and ensure the investment brings rich rewards.

John Vessey is director of Gap Enterprise

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