GAP YEAR: The big adventure

If you've done your A-levels but are not yet ready to settle down to life at university or college, why not think about taking a break and having a gap year? More and more people are opting to take a year off and it is widely seen as a worthwhile and life-fulfilling thing to do. As Tony Higgins, chief executive of UCAS says: "UCAS believes that students who take a well-planned structured year out are more likely to be satisfied with, and complete, their chosen course. The benefits of a well-structured year out are now widely recognised by universities and colleges and cannot fail to stand you in good stead in later life."

Whatever you choose to do, whether it is going on an expedition, travelling, volunteering or learning a new skill, the benefits will be enormous. You will grow in confidence, become independent, develop personal skills and knowledge, which will help you when coping on your own at university or college. If you are unsure about what to do, just tap in "gap year" into a computer and have a look at the wealth of websites offering to sort things out for you. Just remember the key to having a successful gap year is to plan it well. Doing voluntary work overseas is one of the most rewarding ways of spending your gap year. It is a chance to immerse yourself in a different culture and to get a completely new perspective on life. But before you go you will need to save up some money.

Gap Challenge is one of the organisations that set up the opportunity for you to do voluntary work overseas. They offer work placements of three, six or nine months, and this includes the cost of a 12-month return ticket so you can travel after you've finished working. A three-month placement in Australia, for example, doing farm work costs £1,965 including all food and accommodation and a nine-month project in Tanzania teaching English cost £1,940 plus £25-£50 per month for food and accommodation.

Jenny Slocum, 20, from Somerset, who is studying law and international business at the University of Otago in New Zealand, did a three-month teaching placement in Peru and found it an invaluable experience. "In the long term I gained an understanding of the world that travel alone simply can not allow; I matured and had the best time of my life."

Chris Gallant is the communications manager of World Challenge expeditions (Gap Challenge) and thinks the value of a gap year is that it is a life changing experience. "It teaches you life skills and shows you how to be a leader, how to communicate effectively. We don't send people out on their own, they are working as part of a team and they get a good preparation for later life. It helps to bridge the gap between a school lifestyle and a more adult lifestyle."

I-to-i offers activities worldwide from building schools in Honduras to working in the Madras Film Studios in India. All the projects are chosen because they make a positive contribution to local communities and benefit the volunteers' own personal development.

Sarah Boehm, 19, who is now studying medicine at Manchester University, taught English in India and found it a wonderful experience. "We were allowed enormous flexibility in teaching the children – from general discussions on pollution and politics with the older students to games like I-Spy and lots of English songs with the younger ones. It has given me a sense of self-reliance that I can survive without everything at home. It's been an unforgettable experience."

If you don't know which organisation to go for, have a flick through the Gap-Year Guidebook 2002/03 (£11.95), which has a comprehensive list of voluntary organisations and some interesting notes from volunteers who have been abroad.

Teaching Abroad puts volunteers in Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine and Tibet. Costs range from around £800 to £2,000 and include food, lodging, travel, insurance and local backup.

Living in a third-world country, you end up with a very different perspective on life. As Ashish Ghadiali , now reading English at New College, Oxford, says after spending his gap year in Tanzania. "I'm back at home now, spending maybe four weeks worth of Tanzanian wages on a single night out and I don't think I will stop just because of what I've seen. But I now realise how lucky I am to live in the comfort that I live in and appreciate that not everyone in the world is born so lucky."

If you don't want to go abroad to do voluntary work, CSV places volunteers around Britain in projects ranging from helping children with special needs to mentoring young people leaving care to providing respite breaks for family carers. Placements can be part-time or full-time and accommodation and food is provided. Volunteers also receive a weekly allowance of around £26.

If you are not interested in volunteer work, there are plenty of other exciting opportunities to consider. How about studying art history in Italy? Art History Abroad (www.arthistoryabroad.com) has courses in Venice, Florence and Rome where you can immerse yourself in Italian culture. Or do you have a yearning to be an actor and you want to try a drama course in your gap year. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) (www.rada.org.uk) runs four-week and eight-week summer school classes at £2,085 and £3,590 or the Oxford School of Drama has a six-month foundation course for students over the age of 17.

Or maybe you want to work and save up for your time at university or college. The Gap-Year Guidebook has a very useful section on how to get a job and offers advice on how to approach a job agency, how to tart up your CV and has a list of gap year employers.

William Mitting, who is now doing a degree in English at Birmingham University, took a job as trainee manager in an advertising company and found that the reality of the job was very different to what was told at interview. He ended up knocking on people's doors and asking them to make donations to a selection of charities. It was hard work but fascinating. "Quite simply, it was the best job I ever had. It not only gave me the chance to see all over London, but it opened my eyes to the reality of life. My advice to gap year students looking for jobs is to do something you would never do again. Experience in the field you want your future career to be in is important but I'm convinced that life experience is just as important."

But perhaps you would rather just fill your backpack and go off on an adventure. If you are travelling alone, work out a sensible itinerary, plan well in advance, set up lots of contact points and get good insurance. Around 200,000 18- to 25-year-olds will go on a gap adventure this year, according to insurer Primary Direct and whether you travel on a shoestring or in more luxurious style, it is important to get comprehensive insurance. Research from Primary Direct shows that 36 per cent of all gap year travellers are affected by a medical problem, while around 38 per cent make a baggage claim and 14 per cent of backpackers have to claim for lost cash during their time overseas. Shop around to find the best and cheapest insurance for your particular needs.

Whatever you do, plan it well and make the most of your time off. As Malvin Roffe, headmaster of Old Swinford Hospital School, Stourbridge, and a keen advocate of Gap Challenge and the value of experiential learning, says: "A gap year is a unique chance to broaden your experience. It can add a significant dimension to a CV as well as influencing a potential employer after university or college. Seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to broaden your horizons."

'I LEARNT TO AVOID BEING RIPPED OFF'

Ned

"I did three A-levels but fell behind on my studies and dropped two of them. I did A-level art but got an E. I didn't really know what to do, but I decided to take a year off and go travelling somewhere.

I had no idea of where to go but I typed in "student gap year" on my computer and came up with a list of charity projects to go on. One of the charities was the St David's Africa Trust, which sends volunteers to Mali, Morocco and Ghana to teach English at local schools and do charity-based projects in local communities. I sent off my application form and in February last year I went off to Ghana with six other students on a six-month building project.

We'd all been sent information about the country, but it was amazing to step off the plane and be hit by a huge blast of hot air – your hands are sweating by the time you reach the runway. We started off with three weeks of lessons learning about the language and the geography of Ghana. Then we went to a small town called Dunkwa where we started our project of building a school in a small village. We were dumped in a house with money and the local priest to look after us. We then had to hire masons and builders, go and buy building blocks and hire drivers to get bricks. We were building a kindergarten school for the local nursery. We did a good job, but we didn't quite finish it. Some of the workers were serious cowboys. We tried to discipline them and we had contracts, but it was very hard work. The whole trip cost £2,500 and we each had to make to a donation of £750 to the Trust.

I learnt so much from being there. I got a better understanding of dealing with money; I learnt how to make sure I was not being ripped off; I got a completely free and open mind; I read so many books out there it opened my mind and I came back to England with a fresh set of eyes; I learnt not to take things for granted. It was a real life-enhancing experience. I definitely want to go back.

When I came back I decided to do an art foundation course, which I've just finished, at Westminster Kingsway college. Now I'm going to new College Nottingham to do an HND in fine art.

My advice would be to take a gap year, travel as much as you can, meet as many people as you can and get a brighter outlook."

'IT WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE

James Davies

"I did a GNVQ in business studies at Truro College in Cornwall and then I got offered a place at the University of the West of England in Bristol to do a BA Hons in business studies. I decided I wanted to take a year off and go travelling around Australia with my girlfriend before starting university, so while I was doing my GNVQ I started saving. I worked in a supermarket and on a farm and managed to save £3,500. My girlfriend did the same.

We went away last year for 10 months and it was absolutely amazing. We started off in Melbourne and stayed there for a month. We spent Christmas in Sydney and saw fireworks on New Year's Eve over the Sydney Opera House. We then hired a camper van for a month and drove back to Melbourne along the Great Ocean road, which is the most scenic road in Australia. We went to Adelaide and then headed north through the centre of Australia – all flat scrubland with a few kangaroos. We went to Alice Springs and then headed back down the coast to Sydney. We tried to find a job in Brisbane but there is no work there except farm work, which is really hard and badly paid. We eventually found a job selling cable TV but we weren't getting any money so we decided to quit. We went to Cairns to the beautiful Mission Beach and then did some white-water rafting on the Tully river. We swam in the Great Barrier Reef and then went back to Sydney and home.

It was the most phenomenal experience and I learnt so much. It was an incredible shock to the system after living at home. Living by yourself is a really good thing to do before going to university. I had to cook, wash up, keep the tent and camper van tidy and I feel like I'm well prepared now for going away. I haven't become a real chef, but I can now cook a lot more than just beans on toast. It was also a really good experience for learning about money. I learnt how to live on a budget. We worked out we had $170 a week for everything. We managed to stick to that until we hired the camper van and then we went down to $120 a week and we managed to save a bit to go on a spending spree at the end.

My advice to anyone would be to work and save up for your gap year and then go off and do it. You will learn so much and gain so much confidence from meeting new people. It is a fantastic thing to do."

USEFUL WEBSITES

www.csv.org.uk
www.i-to-i.com
www.world-challenge.co.uk
www.yearoutgroup.org
www.gap-year.com
www.frontier.ac.uk
www.teaching-abroad.co.uk
www.challengeuk.com
www.peakleaders.co.uk
www.yearout.co.uk