Young people take gap years for several different reasons. 61% want to earn more money, while 25% want to take a break from studying- a statistic which has doubled since the pandemic. In fact, it is estimated that anywhere between 200,000 to 250,000 young people take a gap year each year in the UK. Despite the stigma around gap years, the Department for Education and Skills found that 60% of those taking a gap year believed that it helped them to decide what subject to study at university. Furthermore, 66% said that they took their studies more seriously upon their return and 88% acquired skills they believed would help in their future careers.
Is gap years becoming more popular because of rich kids wanting to travel, or because students are getting too burnt out before university? With the amount of revision and stress before exams, it’s easy to see why people are choosing to have a year out before they start their degree. Exam anxiety can affect both your physical and mental health, a feat which has only gotten worse since the pandemic. Gap years have slowly become more encouraged as academic pressures have gotten worse over the years. Most European countries start school at the age of seven; is it healthy to be studying from four years old to twenty-one without a break? Perhaps a year off is more sensible than diving straight into an undergrad.
So gap years don’t just appeal to private-school kids wanting to do drugs in a foreign country. A lot of people use a gap year to save up for university, or for a break from exam stress. Maybe we should be trying to relax and live our lives more without the constant pressure to be studying all the time. Maybe those ‘rah’ girls have figured out something we should all be learning from.