| | FIRST THERE was a gap year between graduation | |
| | and work. Then came a break between school and |
| | university. |
| | The gap year between school and university |
5 | | has become an accepted and even encouraged |
| | part of a successful, well-rounded education as |
| | young adults seek 12 months of experience, |
| | inspiration, cash and often, adventure. At the |
| | moment there are roughly 200,000 UK students |
10 | | taking some kind of gap year across the world. |
| | Now a new phenomenon is emerging among |
| | British students: the early gap, with more and |
| | more pupils taking a year off between GCSEs1) |
| | and A-levels2). |
15 | | Greg Iceton of Thornaby, near Middlesbrough, |
| | 16, is a student taking an early gap before he begins his A-levels. He achieved very |
| | good results at GCSE, but is glad he did not continue straight on to A-levels. “It is like |
| | you are dropped into a siphon: school, college, university,” he said. “You are in a |
| | treadmill. There’s no decision-making. It does not give you any choice. When you are at |
20 | | school, you do not appreciate it for what it is. I was sick of studying and wanted a rest. A |
| | year out is a really good opportunity to see life for what it is.” |
| | Greg has just finished five months’ work, raising the £1,000 he needs to travel to |
| | Ghana with Raleigh International in February. “It is a real sense of achievement, raising |
| | the money and going on the trip,” he said. “It is one constant confidence boost. |
25 | | Everyone has said I have grown up a lot. Now I am really looking forward to my A- |
| | levels, I see them as an intellectual challenge. I was sick of school, but now you could |
| | say that I am ready to face the world.” |
| | Educational and careers experts were recently keen to emphasise the potential |
| | benefits of the pre-A-level gap year. “There does seem to be the start of a trend towards |
30 | | people taking an early gap year,” said David Thomas, chief executive of CRAC, the |
| | Careers Research and Advisory Centre. “At this moment numbers are small, but |
| | definitely growing. A gap year at this point gives young people an opportunity to find out |
| | about their own preferences and aptitudes before choosing their A-levels.” |
| | Taking this year gives young people an invaluable early responsibility for managing |
35 | | their financial affairs. Getting a taste for the real world at 16 is a very good idea. It is an |
| | opportunity to understand the workplace and yourself. It gives you the ability to focus, to |
| | find the right path and to understand that the world really is your oyster. People are |
| | beginning to escape from the hamster wheel of life. |
The exam British pupils take at 16.
The exam British pupils take at 18 that qualifies them to go to university if they want to.