There may be lingering ideas of gap years as, in the memorable words of The Sex Pistols, "cheap holidays in other people's misery", but nowadays gap years are pretty much a mainstream activity. According to the latest government figures, up to 250,000 young people aged 16 to 25 take a year out in any given year.
A major industry has grown to service this market, but you don't have to spend long on message boards to find evidence that there are many pitfalls for the unwary, including poor planning, crime and insurance problems, and ethical tour and placement providers that turn out to be anything but. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says it gets more referrals from gap-year travellers for not being properly insured than any other group. Anyone working in an advisory capacity with young people should be ready to help.
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