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A Gap Year after the Upper 6th can be a really exciting, once in a lifetime opportunity to get some real-life experiences before heading off to university, an apprenticeship or into full-time employment. It's a great chance to give yourself the time and space to grow, develop your skills, work, travel the world and have some extraordinary experiences.
However, it's also really important to NOT use your gap year as a "year out". Later on down the line, employers will want to know what you did to develop yourself- personally and professionally, and see that that your gap year was purposeful, planned and enriching. Importantly, its also a one off opportunity to fill in any gaps in your CV and ensuring your profile is ready for the competitive nature for the top universities and apprenticeship opportunities to come.
Therefore, gap years need to be well thought out, planned and treated like a full-time job. By all means, go to the festivals, travel, experience different cultures, explore beautiful sights, cities, landscapes and architecture, do unforgettable things- but at the heart of your year, needs to be your personal development and a commitment to investing in yourself.
Try to ensure you incorporate three elements to your year (well 15 months really!):-1. paid work or extensive work experience, 2. travel and 3. a volunteering project that demonstrates your interests and passions, that enhances your personal development, and that sits well with your personal ethics and values.
This page is here to get you started off, with some links to a range of information, advice and guidance on opportunities, experiences and practical tips to help make your year an amazing success.
PLANNING A GAP YEAR
PLANNING A GAP YEAR
LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION?
LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION?
Please be aware these are not organisations affiliated or endorsed by Bede's Senior School but are a collection of suggestions to explore independently.
Art History Abroad
Art History Abroad
Tel: 01379 871800
Study Art History in Venice, Verona, Florence, Naples, Siena or Rome. A six week course starting in either October or January costs £9,870.
Cactus Language
Cactus Language
Tel: 0845 130 4775 www.cactuslanguage.com
Offer language courses in over 120 destinations around the world. Learn Mandarin in Shanghai -£397 for 30 lessons a week - or prepare for university by partaking in one of their 'Language plus' courses. An Italian language plus cooking course in Florence costs £261 per week.
CELTA
CELTA
Tel: 01223 553311
CELTA is an initial qualification for people interested in teaching English to speakers of other languages. Full time courses are typically four weeks. The Cambridge CELTA is accredited at Level 5 by Ofqual. Applicants must be post A-level.
BUNAC
BUNAC
BUNAC are volunteer abroad & working abroad experts & have been offering working adventures worldwide to USA customers for over 60 years Find out more.
Interested in a gap year with action sports? Flying Fish trains and recruits action sports professionals to work as yacht skippers and super yacht crew and as sailing, diving, surfing, windsurfing, ski and snowboard instructors. It runs courses for gap years where you can learn new skills and earn some money. For more information see:
CESA
CESA
Tel: 01209 211800. Language courses from one week to 24 weeks available worldwide. Learn French in France or Guadeloupe or Spanish in Spain, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico or Peru. A one-week course in Seville with accommodation costs from £320.
All Hands and Hearts Volunteers
All Hands and Hearts Volunteers
Volunteer-powered Relief
With both the frequency and intensity of natural disasters on the rise around the globe, there’s an urgent need for a more thoughtful approach to the way we respond and help impacted communities recover.
When a natural disaster strikes, we arrive early and stay late to address the immediate and long-term needswww.allhandsandhearts.org/
Volunteering Matters
Volunteering Matters
Tel: 020 3780 5870. Offers volunteering opportunities to more than 150,000 people each year, most within Britain. Action Earth Scotland offers green-fingered volunteers the opportunity to try their hand at landscaping and Help at Hand Befriending is a worthwhile scheme aimed to tackle loneliness amongst Britain's elderly. Accommodation, meals and an allowance provided.
Changing Worlds
Changing Worlds
Tel: 02081 238702. Offers a variety of opportunities overseas including volunteering in disadvantaged communities, paid work placements, internships, courses and qualifications and adventure tours. It's all hands on deck in Costa Rica where, for four weeks and from £1,000 upwards, you can assist in the rescue and rehabilitation of local marine life.
Tel: 0191 222 0404
Global Volunteer Projects
Global Volunteer Projects
Projects in Ghana, Tanzania, China, India, Cambodia, Mexico and Romania which range in subject from medicine to journalism to conservation. Assist with government-sponsored schemes aimed at combating the spread of HIV in India and Uganda or those looking to break into journalism might consider joining the editorial team of a local newspaper in Mexico. A four-week turtle-conservation expedition in Mexico costs from £895. Language and culturecourses are included.
Gap Guru
Gap Guru
Tel: 01635 285666. Community development, childcare and sports coaching. Teach English to Buddhist monks in Thailand from £975 for two weeks, excluding flights, visas and insurance.
Oasis Overland
Oasis Overland
(01963 530 113) www.oasisoverland.co.uk
Offers trips all over the world, including Egypt and Jordan, Peru and Bolivia, or its monster 40-week circuit of Africa (from £6,950, excluding flights, with an additional local payment of £2,950 to cover food and accommodation). On their monster 40-week circuit of Africa - sets off from Gibraltar and ends in Cairo, travelling via Cape Town - expect wild-camping, bungee-jumping and white-water rafting.
Gap Year Jobs, Projects & Travel Opportunities
Gap Year Jobs, Projects & Travel Opportunities
We have put together a huge range of gap year courses, paid working holidays, volunteer placements and travel adventures in breathtaking destinations around the world.
These days it is easier than ever to travel abroad with leading providers of paid and volunteer gap year projects. Whether you are filling a few weeks of your summer break or planning a year long break to travel the world, we have gap year inspiration for every budget!
Omprakash
Omprakash
Omprakash is focused on building educational relationships between grassroots social impact organisations and volunteers, donors & classrooms around the world who can learn from and support their work.
Workaway
Workaway
A huge database of organisations and individuals offering work opportunities in return for food and accommodation across every country in the world. Perfect for filling in the time in between bigger projects.
Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms
Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms
WWOOF is part of a worldwide movement linking visitors with organic farmers and growers to promote cultural and educational experiences based on trust and non-monetary exchange thereby helping to build a sustainable global community.
Volunteer South America
Volunteer South America
A website that lists free and low-cost volunteer opportunities in South and Central America.
Restless Development
Restless Development
Tel: 020 7633 3350
A youth-led agency that offers volunteer projects and training across Africa and South Asia, and the UK. The fundraising target is around £800.
Take a gap year with purpose in New York supporting students and families with low incomes in areas of deprivation in New York
Project Trust
Project Trust
Tel: 01879 230444
Eight- and 12-month placements aimed at school-leavers, from community work – such as working in a children's home in South Africa – to teaching English in China. Volunteers must raise at least £5,500 for eight months and £6,200 for 12 months.
Latin Link
Latin Link
Tel: 0118 957 7100
Sends teams to work with Christian missionaries in Latin America. This year they will send teams to 19 countries around the world. A four- month Spring volunteer project costs from £2,900, including flights. Summer volunteer projects last around 3 weeks and cost from £950.
Global Vision
Global Vision
Tel: 01727 250250
Community, wildlife, marine and rainforest conservation expeditions, projects and volunteer holidays. Volunteer with Buddhist novice monks in Laos. Schemes can last between 2-24 weeks, prices from £950 including accommodation
Voluntary Service Overseas
Voluntary Service Overseas
VSO aims to bring together local, national and international volunteers to work alongside the world’s most marginalised and vulnerable communities to build generational change
PRACTICAL INFORMATION GUIDES
PRACTICAL INFORMATION GUIDES
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