beyond school
Gap Year
Lots of young people take a year off study between school and college or university, to do something completely different.
Planning the year
The opportunities for your teenager to mix with others in a work environment, to travel, to study or learn new skills are certainly out there. The question is, will they take them? And is it what your son and daughter need or want to do?
There are lots of things to consider:
- Work experience may give them some insight into a chosen career path.
- Time to consider what they want to gain from a college or university education may give them a more constructive approach to their higher education.
- A special project or challenge is something that looks good on the CV.
Finances
Your son or daughter may earn quite a bit of disposable income, especially if they are working while living at home. Learning to save money will be good practice for surviving on a student grant later. Their own earned money can give them independence – perhaps for a couple of months’ travel or to use as extra funding in college. If you are happy to continue to provide for them during the gap year – or if you want financial contribution – you must discuss this as early as possible and as clearly as possible to avoid arguments. Bear in mind how their years as a student will be financed and what your contribution to this will be.
Volunteering, expeditions and projects
The Year Out Group is a loose association of agencies and charities that can offer volunteer work and projects of all kinds. Their website www.yearoutgroup.org lists all the member organisations and details about them, with links to their websites.
The most famous is Operation Raleigh – www.raleigh.org.uk. The Project Trust – www.projecttrust.org.uk - is another organisation for people who might like to get involved with projects in developing countries.
For other ideas, teenagers could dip into www.gapyear.co.uk. It gives an idea of the range of things ‘gappers’ get up to, and includes information about independent travel and working abroad.
For some fascinating gap year confessions and insights from Guardian writers, and some useful links, go to www.travel.guardian.co.uk/gapyears
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