A gap year is a year's break between secondary education and university. Many teenagers in the UK take gap years to travel around the world and work before they have to step into adulthood. Some teens also take gap years if they haven't decided what they want to study at the university. It gives them a chance to explore their options or to attend some academic courses to improve their skills.
The gap year was set in post-war Britain to give young people the opportunity to explore the world and experience new cultures. It started as a part of cultural and social revolution to teach the younger generation independence, tolerance and acceptance of other people to prevent further world wars from happening. Children were encouraged by their parents to take a gap year and travel around the world because their parents never had such opportunity. As gap years started in the 60s and flights were expensive, many gappers tend to travel by minibuses, called Campers, in groups. Later on in the 90s, backpacking became popular and since then many gap year takers choose this mode of transport as it gives them a great opportunity to meet new people and visit many places at once.
Nowadays, gap years are still very common and popular amongst school leavers in the UK. Many other countries have also started to adapt this concept. Universities welcome post-gap-year applicants on the same basis as those going straight to university from secondary education. Gap years are are also often seen as a way to improve your CV and to gain relevant work experience in a particular field. Whether people see gap years as a way of taking time out to travel or to gain some experience, it has always been accepted and even encouraged in the UK to take a gap to realise that there is a world of opportunity out there just waiting to be explored.