Sarfraz Manzoor's article on gap years (Work in a gap year? Give me a break, G2, August 11), drew heavily on the stereotype, in some cases justified, that taking a year out to travel before university is the sole domain of white middle-class students. But as the gap-year industry expands, so too do the opportunities for less privileged students to take part, the growing numbers of deferred entries are evidence this is taking place.

Having just completed my pre-university gap year (six months' full-time work at home and six months' voluntary work and travelling around South America), I can say that many other gappers I met had little or no support financially, and funded their travels independently as a result of hard work. Of course there are upper-middle-class students who will always have the safety net of their parents, but there are many students who know if they run out of money they'll be on the next plane home. This self-sufficiency is for many what a gap year is all about.

A year off to travel is not wasted on anyone, least of all the 18-year-olds who know that this may be the only time of their lives that it is a feasible concept. I feel glad I took what may be my only chance of spending such a long time in one of the most fascinating areas of the world and working with the kind of community I may never be able to see again.
George Hayes
York

I took a gap year, and am neither white or from a typically middle-class background. I dreamed of and planned my gap year well ahead, and on top of doing four A-levels, I worked 20 hours a week doing night shifts flipping burgers, saving up to go abroad. Instead of going to an English-speaking country, I went to France.

I resent the idea that my year abroad was "like year-long versions of Glastonbury". First, because I've never been able to afford to go to Glastonbury, and second, because during my gap year I got up at 6.30 every morning and worked as a chambermaid in a hotel. Hardly a holiday. I earned just enough to get by. Character-building, perhaps, but hardly privileged.

I sense that Manzoor might be a bit bitter about never being allowed a year of total freedom ahead of university and career. Taking a gap year for me was not about "living like poor people". It was about me wanting to recuperate from 12 years of schooling ahead of having to work for four years to earn a degree and money to pay my tuition fees. Anyone who is willing to work hard enough can do it - it's certainly not the exclusive privilege of the white middle class.
Liss Anda
Reading, Berks

The only problem with gap years is that we don't have enough of them. All students and workers should be provided with the opportunity to take a gap year. I had to work for six months to earn enough money to travel for the remaining six months but it was worth every penny. After I returned to start university, I came back with a more mature outlook on life.

I agree that the government should not be using gap years as a cheap source of labour. Instead, it should be encouraging all students to take a gap year abroad. Its latest venture should be modified to provide less affluent students with a chance of spending time abroad; perhaps a period of volunteering locally in the UK in the first half of a gap year could be linked to government-funded travel for the remainder of the year. That way students would be able to help out their community and earn their travel time abroad, thereby offering a life-altering experience for all students.
Hassan Elhassan
London