OK, so your A-level results were not good enough to get you into the university of your choice. You now face a dilemma: enter the lottery that is the clearing system to find an alternative course or defer your entry to next year and take yourself off for what could be the most exhilarating and rewarding year of your life . Hmm, it's a tough one.
According to student travel specialists STA Travel, 65 per cent of students now take a year out before or after university. The good news is that there are still plenty of gap year placements left for those who have found themselves with an unexpected year to fill. Here's our pick:
Thailand
You'll have to be careful not to get too sentimentally attached if you choose to dedicate your gap time to the Dog Rescue Centre on Koh Samui. Hundreds of stray dogs and cats, injured in road accidents or suffering from malnutrition, are cared for at the shelter where you can help catch strays, feed them, treat them and give them some much needed tender loving care.
You'll live in a Thai bungalow and work Monday to Friday from 10am-5pm, so you'll have evenings and weekends free to join the beach parties. Programmes start throughout the year, generally last two to three months, and cost £1,400 (for two months) for accommodation, training in the UK, transfers, adventure activities, travel insurance and ongoing support.
· Personal Overseas Development (020 8246 5811; www.thepodsite.co.uk)
Scotland
There'll be no electricity, flushing toilets or running water, but you won't care when you're in the uplifting environment of the mountains and lochs of the old Caledonian Forest. The Trees for Life charity welcomes volunteers from all over the world to help plant trees, remove fences, tend plants or do whatever needs doing to restore this 600 square mile Highlands forest north west of Inverness. Programmes are run in the spring and autumn and you can go for as little as a week. Not all accommodation is as basic as we've described. Be prepared for some changeable weather and be willing to help out with the cooking. A week costs from £32 including transport from Inverness to and from the location of the week, accommodation and vegetarian meals (vegans can also be catered for).
· Trees for Life (01309 691292; www.treesforlife.org.uk)
South Africa
You've seen it on the wildlife programmes, now it's your turn. Join a team of photojournalists and shark researchers to help monitor, tag and release sharks to save the rapidly diminishing populations off Seal Island near Cape Town. You'll be required to help out on the research vessel, and if you're a Padi qualified diver you might even get the chance to take a dip in a shark cage. Other than that, experience is unnecessary as you'll be learning from experts. One week costs £995, two weeks £1,295 excluding flights.
· i-to-i (0870 7871772; www.i-to-i.com)
Australia
Pick your way across Australia with the Harvest Trail. Whether you're pulling mangoes off trees in Darwin or plucking grapes off vines in Buronga, there's always something ripe for picking whatever time of year. The work can be repetitive and tiring but will keep you fit, and if you time it right you can circle the entire continent, from the wet tropics of far north Queensland to Tasmania's Huon Valley. The Australian government has set up a handy website, updated every 15 minutes, telling you where help is required. You'll just have to pay for your flight and get yourself from orchard to orchard by bus. The farms can usually help recommend accommodation in the nearby town.
· Harvest Trail (jobsearch.gov.au/HarvestTrail; 1800062332 toll free within Australia)
Cyprus/Greece
You might have every intention of studying a serious discipline when your gap year's over, but there's no reason why you can't learn a sexy, sporty skill in the meantime. Flying Fish runs courses in sailing, diving, surfing and windsurfing in Australia, Cyprus, Greece, Canada, and the UK, for people who just want to learn a hobby or those who want to be teachers. A 14-week kitesurfing and windsurfing course in Cyprus and Greece starting on 3 April costs £6,250 and includes self-catering accommodation, equipment, publications, tuition, exam fees and flights. If successful, you'll come away a qualified water sports instructor - and you might just decide to forget about that 'serious career' altogether.
· Flying Fish (0871250 2500; www.flyingfishonline.com)
Guyana
Sleeping in hammocks and washing in rivers - you'll get right down to basics on this four-month Amazon community project with Trekforce. You'll start in the remote jungle, working on a community project alongside one of Guyana's Amerindian communities in teams of 15-20 people. No two days will be the same but the highlight will be a 5-10 day trek to a breathtaking waterfall or up the highest peak in Guyana. After two months you'll break off into pairs to teach in an Amerindian village, living with a host family. You've got until January to raise the cost of £3,450, which covers project costs, accommodation, food, in-country transport, training, comprehensive medical cover, expedition staff and 24-hour field base support.
· Trekforce (020 7828 2275; www.trekforce.org.uk)
Norway
Be a farm hand on a Norwegian farm for two to six months, doing anything from picking berries and harvesting vegetables to haymaking and mucking out the animals. Each year, 1,000 18- to-30-year-olds from around the world are invited to take part in the non-profit scheme, Atlantis Youth Exchange, designed to promote mutual understanding and respect between cultures. You'll live with a family (one of whom will speak a little English) and work a maximum of 35 hours a week. Accommodation is free and you'll get paid board and pocket money. Application fees start at €400 (£270).
· Atlantis Youth Exchange (00 47 22 477170; www.atlantis.no; email atlantis@atlantis.no)
India
Teach English, computing or football and other sports to Tibetan monks in a Tibetan refugee community in India. Placements for females are available in Tibetan nunneries, cultural centres and schools for kindergarten or primary-aged children. You'll be living in a village or a hillside town, surrounded by views of the snow-covered Himalayas, and making lifelong friends among the exceptionally warm-hearted Tibetans. There'll be plenty of free time to go off trekking, and you might even get to meet the Dalai Lama. Prices start at £1,450 including accommodation, an administration fee, training, visa and insurance costs.
· GAP Activity Projects (0118 959 4914; www.gap.org.uk)
Mexico
One of the most important ecosystems in Mexico, the wetland valley of the Chihuahua Desert, is now under threat from climate change and the effect of commercial mining. It's your job to help conserve it as a vital source of natural resources and home to more than 1,000 species of plants and animals. All you have to do is spend four to 12 weeks tagging the red-eared turtle population, replanting local plant species and building small dams to ensure the wetlands are restored. You'll have to fund your flight, and pay from £995 (for four weeks) for your accommodation, two meals a day, training and supervision.
· i-to-i (0113 205 4628; www.i-to-i.com)
Canada
Become a qualified ski or snowboard instructor in just 11 weeks in some of the world's best snow conditions. As well as getting to grips with the slopes of the Canadian Rockies, you'll learn how to cope in an avalanche and will be put through your paces on a weekend survival course, spending a night in a snow cave on a mountain. You can also opt for extra evening classes in foreign languages, cookery or teaching English. Courses are now run in three resorts: Fernie costs £6,250 18 January-5 April; Red Mountain is £5,450, 6 January-24 March; and Banff is £5,550, 11 January-29 March. Prices include return flights from London, transfers, accommodation, weekday breakfasts and evening meals, full season lift pass, 20 hours a week coaching, video analysis, exam fees, work experience in local ski schools, and weekend trips.
· Nonstopski (0870 241 8070; www.nonstopski.com)
More ways to see the world
Check out these sources for more gap year information
Worldwide Volunteering
www.wwv.org.uk
Gapyear.com
www.gapyear.com
Work and Travel Company
www.worktravelcompany.co.uk
Green Force
www.greenforce.org
Base Camp Group
www.basecampgroup.com
Africa & Asia Venture
www.aventure.co.uk
Blue Ventures
www.blueventures.org
Conservation Volunteers Australia
www.conservationvolunteers.com.au
STA Travel Gapyear Hotline
0870 160 5522
· For further reading see Taking a Gap Year by Susan Griffith (Vacation Work Publications) £11.95 or The Virgin Guide to Working Abroad by Rebecca Hardy (Virgin Books) £12.99.
