Gap year popularity ‘booming’ as students struggle to win uni places

Posted 24 Aug 2010

Gap years are booming at a time when competition for university places is fiercer than ever, it has been reported.

According to the Daily Mail, many of the hundreds of thousands of students who found out their A-level results last week will not have achieved the necessary grades to win a place at university next year.

But a significant number of these people will now be considering overseas activities such as voluntary work or teaching English abroad, with gap year bookings for 18 to 24-year-olds said to be rising significantly compared to last year.

It is not just teens who are looking at opportunities to temporarily move abroad, with interest in gap years among older people who have been made redundant also said to have risen dramatically.

"And if you do something constructive and relevant to any future work or studies, it can improve your CV or enhance your chances of securing a place at university," the newspaper wrote.

Those considering teaching as a career path may, therefore, wish to take a year out to teach English abroad for their long-term prospects as well as for the experience itself. 

Category: Teaching and Learning