Gap years have never been short of criticism. They have been slammed by some as a middle-class, white phenomenon and knocked by the regular - if not particularly frequent - high profile deaths. Others see them as a drawn out hedonistic orgy that stamps over local customs. Today VSO - the international development charity - provides support to those looking for a year of fun, saying teeangers should simply go backpacking rather than doing voluntary work in developing countries.
The so-called "voluntourism" phenomenon has spawned ill-planned schemes that leave young people out of pocket, VSO says today, ahead of A-level students getting their results this week. The schemes also rarely do much to help the countries they are set up in, the charity argues.
VSO is not the only body to fret about the gap year. The Royal Geographical Society recently warned about the class-divide among gap year students. Tara Duncan, managing editor for journals at the Royal Geographic Society, said:
"Unfortunately our research shows the gap year is still a middle-class phenomenon - and a white, rather than ethnic minority, one at that."
The Guardian's leader writers have been similarly circumspect about the benefits of gap years to those who may confuse sleeping with lots of different people with "finding yourself", instead praising those who take a career break.
Angus Hinks, who has taken three gaps - skiing, holidaying and diving - begs to differ.
"I worked long hours in the UK to pay for the snowboarding trip, and I worked in Canada in the resort. Towards the end I ran out of money, but I still enjoyed it and I learned a lot."
What do you think about gap years? Is VSO right? How did you spend yours and what did you learn?
