Both the number and proportion of young people going into higher education has risen rapidly over the last few years, from 29.5% in 2005 to 34.1% in 2010. As the number of students has increased, so too has the number taking a 'gap year', commonly thought of as a year-long break between finishing school and starting university, often devoted to travel or work. Despite increasing numbers, high media exposure and the development of a 'gap year industry', however, there is very little evidence on the characteristics of gap year takers, their motivations for taking a gap year and what they do whilst they are out of education and, perhaps most importantly, what effect this decision has on their longer-term outcomes. This report aims to fill these gaps, by providing quantitative evidence from two datasets on gap year takers in the UK.

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