Gap or grind on? Weigh the options (From Barry And District News)

Gap or grind on? Weigh the options

EXAMS, exams and more exams - why is it that when the weather starts to get better, pupils are forced to sit in heated gyms and halls to do exams?

It's no wonder so many Vale youngsters are choosing to take a break with a gap year before university or 'proper' work.

But is it really a break, and is a gap year a good idea?

Although some keen students can't wait to take up their place at some hallowed seat of learning, many view the prospect of going straight into another three years of study with as much enthusiasm as a trip to the dentist.

On the plus side, bounding straight off to your chosen university ensures that you're still firmly in the old academic groove, ready and willing to take on all the studying, researching and revising that a degree course demands.

A university campus offers youngsters their first real taste of freedom; a chance to enjoy that longed-for independence in a different town filled with new faces and all the unbridled fun that goes with being a student.

It also means that you're only three or maybe four years away from embarking on your chosen career, and attaining all the financial and emotional rewards that this will bring.

However others, exhausted by their efforts to get into "that" university, or just craving the opportunity to learn outside the classroom for a while, view taking a gap year as just the tonic to refresh a stale and stagnant mind.

Despite the obvious benefits of getting your formal education done and dusted in one go, an ever-increasing number of students are reconsidering the wisdom of rushing into a degree immediately after completing the GCSE and A-level scramble.

Many are understandably keen to grasp this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel the world unburdened by the constraints of a job, family or mortgage.

But it's worth remembering that even if you do opt to defer your degree, you may still find yourself saying tearful goodbyes to friends who have sprinted off to far-flung corners of the country to pursue their own courses.

Despite the drawbacks, the fact that lower sixth pupils are undergoing more examinations than ever before - thanks to AS-levels - means that the number considering taking a year out before embarking on more study looks likely to escalate.

Teenage pin-up Prince William paved the way by choosing to spend a year globetrotting after Eton before undertaking a fine art course at St Andrew's University in Scotland. And he is by no means alone, according to the University and Colleges Admissions Service. In the year 2000 alone, more than 22,000 youngsters bailed out of academia to get a taste of the "real" world before continuing their studies.

Mr Tony Higgins, head of the service, doesn't believe the trend will end there. He predicts a seven per cent rise in the number of students who will choose to defer their studies.

He said: "The statistics show that more people are now taking a year out."

While more and more youngsters want to take a break before spending three years worrying about lectures and what's not on daytime TV, many do not have the same financial freedom as the future king.

The burden of student loans is encouraging many teenagers to seek out paid employment before their degree in a valiant attempt to limit their debts on graduation.

However, working in your gap year doesn't have to mean spending 12 months filing accounts or being behind the counter of your nearest fast-food restaurant; gap year working can prove to a more rewarding as well as profitable way of seeing the world.

After all, working abroad allows you to immerse yourself in another culture at first-hand without the baggage that goes with being a mere tourist.

Not only are you more likely to stumble upon some dusty outpost known only to locals and way beyond the realms of any Lonely Planet guide, you also have an invaluable opportunity to pick up the language, customs and nuances of the country that you are working in every day.

Aware that many young people are keen to experience another country rather than just visit some well-documented places of interest, a plethora of companies now offer training courses for people planning to work abroad.

A whole gamut of short courses in everything from conservation to cookery, tailor-made to suit the dynamic traveller, are accessible on the internet. Most only last a few weeks, to allow intrepid globetrotters plenty of time to put their new-found skills into practice.

Working abroad can also spice up an otherwise mundane CV, proving to graduate employers that not only were you conscientious enough to work during your year out, but that you were confident enough to do it abroad.

However, if you're one of those students fortunate enough not to have to worry about the debt associated with today's degree courses, perhaps you can consider giving your time for free.

There's nothing like a touch of altruism to cut some serious ice with prospective employers. Indeed, every one of the 89 top companies recently questioned by the Association of Graduate Recr-uiters said voluntary work gave gap year students confidence and leadership skills.

Of course, if money is no object, there's nothing to stop you spending your year trekking through Amazonian rainforests or cruising St Tropez on a long extended holiday.

But beware; the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals warns gap years should be put to good use if you're hoping to impress pernickety admissions tutors.

"They prefer to see that gap years are used most productively - as a learning experience that bears some relevance to study," confided a spokesman.