Take up a new language, learn how to programme, try a new sport or music instrument, or learn a new practical skill, such as mechanics, carpentry, or cookery.
Explore the world, discover new cultures, and develop your independent living skills at the same time
To gain relevant experience and skills for a particular career or subject you plan to study, you could consider a work placement or internship. These can last from a few weeks to a year.
Note: this can be very popular and competition for places is high, so you will need to apply early.
You could consider working for a few months to gain skills and finance part of your gap year (ski season in France or Canada, hospitality work in New Zealand…)
Many employers and universities value the experiences students have gained if they have actively managed their time, set themselves goals, and stretched themselves.
In particular, sense of initiative and resilience, having broader horizons and a global outlook.
If you decide to apply for uni, you could tailor your gap year to relate it to the subject area you plan to study.
You might also be able to earn and save money towards your higher education costs or future plans.
And with a clearer sense of you are, what you want (and don’t want! )
An unstructured year out may not add much value to your future – careful thought and planning are essential.
You could find yourself in a worse financial position at the end. Be wary of spending a lot of money unless you have evidence of quality of the scheme.
To avoid pitfalls, it is important to think of your aims for the year and for afterwards and to take time planning it out. Questions to consider:
How much time can you be away and when?
What is available? Research the wide range of gap year and volunteering schemes available, or look into organising it yourself. Some voluntary work schemes are popular and have strict deadlines, and you need to consider when you need the money to pay for airfares or visas.
How much money will you need? Unless you’re planning to work or have some financial help, you are going to need money. Set yourself a realistic budget that you can afford to stick to. Should you consider fundraising? - it can help if you’re going to volunteer to do charitable work.
Usually, you can defer entry for one year. You will still need to meet the conditions of any offers in the year that you apply.
However, some universities will not accept deferred entries for some subject like Medicine- so you must check it out before considering a gap year.
Applicants to conservatoire courses need to contact the conservatoire(s) directly to request deferred entry.
When filling in your UCAS application form in UCAS Apply (box ticking).
After your application has been submitted by contacting university directly.
After receiving an offer by contacting the university directly.
Once you have deferred your place and this has been accepted, it will be very difficult or impossible to revert back to your original year of entry, so you need to be sure of your decision before contacting the university or college. Changing your mind at this stage is not straightforward, and will depend on whether there are places available on the course.
There is a wide range of gap year and volunteering schemes available. They vary in quality, so again, do some research!
If you’re using an agency or scheme, check out how long they have been running, if they are financially sound, and are members of a reputable organisation, such as ABTA or Year Out Group, where they agree to follow a code of conduct.
A trusted organisation for volunteering is Project Trust.
You can also find some useful information on gap years on the UCAS website and much of the information here on this page is sourced from UCAS.
If you are thinking of doing a Gap Year, please let your S6 Tutor and a member of the Careers team know. We can help you with the application and as a former pupil if you apply to university upon return from a Gap year.
The school offers a number of Gap year opportunities for the pupils. You can apply for these either independently or through the school. These are advertised each year and are administered by the Social Action and Enrichment team (contact Miss Everett for more information)
Youth social action volunteering – #iwill
International Citizen Service (ICS)- government funded international volunteering placements for 18-25 year olds in the UK.