The Gap Year

Specialist speakers are invited to help pupils assess the attractions and possible pitfalls of taking a Gap Year. This is the year out that many pupils take between school and university. The School is sympathetic to the idea of this interim year and there is a teacher in charge of advising interested pupils.

Attractions

There are many opportunities to spend six to nine months of a Gap Year, for example, working in a developing country, either teaching or helping in local communities.

Gap organisations

Among the most popular Gap organisations is Students’ Partnership Worldwide, which is supported and run from Westminster. The School helps to sponsor and place about 300 young people each year from all kinds of schools including some Westminster’s leavers.

Considerations

The appropriateness of taking a Gap Year depends on the individuals concerned and their own university plans. For some courses (for example, medicine and other degrees demanding long periods of study) most universities prefer or even insist that students start their courses without such a break.