Scared of spiders? Don't pick bananas

A whole industry has developed around the gap year but Lavinia Maclean-Bristol can remember a time when it was an activity dominated by public school boys dispatched overseas for a little character-building.

"It is about 30 years since we sent our first girl," says Maclean-Bristol, chief executive of Project Trust, the oldest gap year company, which is based, rather improbably, at the waterside Breachachadh Castle, on the Isle of Coll, off the west coast of Scotland. "There was much sucking of teeth at the whole idea of sending a girl to Ethiopia as a milk recorder."

This year, two-thirds of the 220 school leavers placed across the globe by Project Trust will be female. And 70 per cent of the youngsters will come from state schools. Maclean-Bristol says that boys often feel they can organise their own gap year, and then often end up doing nothing. Their applications often arrive late.

English teaching remains the main-stay Project Trust activity – "it is the one skill an 18-year-old has" – although most young people are also involved in some kind of social project in their host country. "We insist on a year," she says. "Anything less and they don't really get enough out of it."

Richard Oliver, chief executive of the Year Out Group, says the trend for students to defer their university place for a year is growing. About 14 per cent of places were deferred last year. Oliver says more young people are delaying their university application for a year. And when it comes to making the most of the gap year, Oliver is a strong advocate of the structured programme. Dossing around for the 12 months rather frustrates the former army officer.

"If you take daddy's money and go to Australia, that is much too cushioned," he says. Trawl through the Year Out Group website and the variety of structured projects is dazzling. You can have an adventure in Greenland, the Himalayas or Namibia with BSES Expeditions, teach in Ghana or Vancouver with Buncac, go to Thailand or Japan with the Coral Cay Conservation group or do volunteer work overseas with the Africa and Asia Venture. What the schemes all have in common, Oliver says, is that they build self confidence, good communication skills, team working and problem-solving skills.

Maclean-Bristol says that Australia, once the favourite Project Trust destination "has lost its glamour", and that South America is now the gappers' favourite. "It is just fashion. The Far East used to be very big but we really have to sell places like China and Thailand hard now."

Rebecca Jordan, a founding member of Gapwork, a company which helps independent gappers find work as they flit round the globe, says that Australia and New Zealand remain the number one destination for those who decide to shape their own year. Gapwork produces two Gap Pack help books, one for Europe and the other for Australia and New Zealand. The latter is the best seller.

"One reason is the working holiday visa," says Jordan. "It allows gap year students to work for up to three months in Australia or New Zealand. It is a reciprocal arrangement between the three countries. Developing countries, of course, offer travellers fewer work opportunities."

Jordan warns that gappers have to understand that they cannot be fussy about jobs overseas. At 18, few have any higher skills to offer. "You have to clean offices if you don't have officer skills," she says. "Fruit picking is another favourite. We give advice about what kind of fruit you should look to pick. For example, banana picking is relatively easy but don't do it if you are scared of spiders. Pretty huge ones live in banana trees. We also advise again watermelon picking unless you want muscles."

A little luxury in coastal Ecuador

Oliver Millington, 18, starts a degree in product design later this year at Nottingham Trent University. He and three friends (two guys and a girl) designed their own gap year.

"For the first six months after leaving school, I worked in a bar and HMV and saved £2,000. I borrowed £1,000 from my parents which I didn't have to pay back and then another £1,000 during the trip, which I've just finished paying off. Just after Christmas, the four of us got the atlas out and started planning where to go. We didn't want to do Australia, as everyone does it and we wanted to do something different. So we decided to go to North and South America. In North America, we had quite a few family friends we could stay with, which saved money. We flew into Boston, went up to Vancouver, then on to Los Angeles and Mexico. We travelled by ourselves for two months, then met up with a tour group for independent travellers and went through Peru and Ecuador. Crossing the border from Peru into Ecuador was hairy but the guide struck up a deal with some thieves to push our bags through on a trolley while we surrounded it. We walked in the jungle, stayed on the beach – we had a brilliant time. We even had a bit of luxury in Guayaquil (Ecuador) because one of us knew the British Consul. I think we learned a lot; we had to be independent. People are amazed we travelled for three and a half months without getting mugged. My parents had suggested I teach English in the developing world but I didn't want to be limited to one place. Most of my friends travelled independently."