Teach Middle East Magazine Sep - Dec 2020 Issue 1 Volume 8 | Page 42

Sharing Good Practice
THE GROWING GAP YEAR CULTURE
CRANLEIGH ASKS GAP YEAR STUDENTS WHAT THEY THINK
M
any people today question
the benefit of taking a
gap year before university,
claiming it distracts from the
traditional and more advantageous
academic route. Yet, studies show that
not only is the number of gap year
students increasing, but so is their
success rate. There is now widespread
recognition that a gap year can help
young people refine their ideas,
increase their motivation and develop
structured career plans, before
entering another sheltered student
experience.
At the same time, some criticism of
taking a gap year is based on the
perception that it is a privilege only
available to those with the freedom to
make that choice. Public response to
the news of Malia Obama’s decision
to take a gap year was also divided,
with a New York Times article titled
Malia Obama’s ‘Gap Year’ Is Part of a
Growing (and Expensive) Trend.
Cranleigh Abu Dhabi took the
opportunity to ask three gap year
students from the UK, who are
currently employed at the school in
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Abu Dhabi, what they thought about
the different perceptions of taking
a gap year. Madeleine Hodgkinson,
from Wyedean School, and Josh
Wilkinson and Jordan Corbett, from
Cranleigh UK, all work at the school in
Abu Dhabi in a variety of capacities.
Primarily, they serve as support staff
for administrative tasks and school
activities, teaching assistants for
different subjects and as mentors for
current Sixth Form students.
We spoke to Madeleine, Josh, and
Jordan about their decision to take a
year away from school and what they
find are some of the benefits and
drawbacks.
Madeleine decided to take a gap year
after her father made the decision
to move to Abu Dhabi, seeing it as
an opportunity to do something
worthwhile with a job at Cranleigh Abu
Dhabi. She deferred her enrollment to
the University of Southampton for one
year and is planning on attending in
fall 2019 and studying anthropology
and archaeology.
Jordan and Josh both had the idea of
Class Time
a gap year in the back of their minds
while at school. They saw that there
was a massive gap year culture present
at Cranleigh UK, where students make
the decision to work and travel for
a year before continuing education
at university. According to them, the
need for going straight to university
isn’t as pronounced and the idea of
a gap year is very normalized. In fact,
they claim that some students who go
straight into university end up taking a
year off after they finish their degree
to gain some of the same experiences
before working.
Gap year became more of a reality
to them when this role at Cranleigh
Abu Dhabi became available through
Cranleigh UK. Josh is still planning to
apply for the next academic year and
enroll in university to study economics,
while Jordan is planning to do the
same with a focus on geography.
All students were excited for the
opportunity to take a break from full
time education and have a professional
job that would allow them to develop
skills such as meeting deadlines, self-
management and working with a team.