Unexpected A-level results? Take a gap break and consider the options.
It's that time of year we affectionately call “limbo-land” - a nerve wracking time for parents of 18-year olds across the width and breadth of the land. Your precious bundles (all 18 years worth) have worked hard for the last few months to do the best they can in their A-levels and on the 14th August they finally get to clap eyes on those precious results. Until now the future hasn't been completely decided.

If you are the recipient of unexpected A-level results (and many are) then read on. At Real Gap, we have hatched a travel escape plan to help you take stock, have some well-deserved time out and reconsider your future.

STEP 1 - THE GAP BREAK-OUT PLAN
Treat the next year as an opportunity for an “adventure of a lifetime”. Whether you are retaking exams next year, taking a full gap year or still unsure what you are doing next there is always time for travel, providing you can be flexible. Programmes run for two weeks to two years so whether you have the funds in place now, need to spend some time saving up or need to be back in the UK for re-takes at some point, there are programmes available.

Real Gap offers over 500 programmes in 45 countries over 6 continents including  - volunteering, conservation, adventure travel and expeditions, sports, teaching English, round the world, paid working holidays and learning.

STEP 2 - THE FUNDS
We can send you the REAL Plan Pack - giving advice on real travelling costs, ways of fundraising (for those of you who have found the Bank of Mum and Dad a bit lean lately) and things you need to think about before you travel.

Did you know that you can get paid work in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA? Or take a TEFL and teach your way around the world. What about becoming a ski or surf instructor? Or how about an underwater videographer? Pretty good stuff for the UCAS personal statement or CV!

STEP THREE - BOOK IT
Programmes do get booked up early and spaces are limited so we recommend you book as soon as possible. A small deposit secures your trip for 12 months, giving you time to plan and save. Book via www.realgap.co.uk or call us on 01892 516164.

BUT DON'T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT…
Amber Bowyer, 20 who travelled with Real Gap last year on the Thailand Experience says, “I had chosen to go straight from college to university however cancelled my place at the last minute and got a job. I decided to go travelling at the end of my gap year as I didn't want to waste it. I chose to go with Real Gap because I wanted to go with a well-established company that wouldn't rip me off and as a first experience this seemed like a safe option. I liked how Real Gap enabled us all to contact each other before we left so we kind of knew each other before we got there. I had an amazing time - you had to pinch yourself everyday checking to make sure it was real! Volunteering will be useful for my course at uni and I think it helped me get my place when I put it on my application.”

Charlie Launder, 19, travelled with Real Gap to Zimbabwe in March this year and spent five weeks on the Big Five Wildlife Conservation Experience. Charlie comments, “I've always wanted to see different parts of the world and I wanted a break from writing essays and revising. The programme opened my eyes to what else there is in the world and has given me the confidence to go out there and get what I want from life.”

A LAST SUMMER FLING?
Of course, for those going to university in September, there are still four or five weeks of summer holidays left. Have you worked in a local supermarket or bar for the last couple of months? Feel like you have missed the summer? Before getting back to the grindstone, how about two weeks:-

• In conservation work on the Turtle & Surf programme in Costa Rica?
• Enjoying South Africa from the saddle with the Africa Horseback and Conservation Experience?
• Helping in an orphanage in Thailand?
• Assisting at the Monkey Rehabilitation Centre in South Africa?
• Working with the Street Children: Care & Education programme in Ecuador?

For more information call us on 01892 516164 or email us e: infopack@realgap.co.uk or visit the website www.realgap.co.uk 

Ps. If that hasn't persuaded you…
Chris Hughes, our schools co-ordinator, got the job here because he impressed our MD with his creative fundraising ideas and persistency! Chris booked his programme whilst he was working for the first six months of his gap year. He topped up his salary by fundraising and raiding his parent's attic and selling the stuff at boot fairs (good advice: ask your parents first, huh Chris?) and as he says, “had the most amazing time of my life travelling, playing sport, meeting great people. I will never forget sky diving over Lake Taupo in New Zealand. Best of all was travelling safe in the knowledge I could do all the things I wanted to -I had earned enough to pay for the extras like sky diving, bungee jumping. It really was worth every penny I sweated over and every early morning start.”