Four days to go and then thousands of pupils around SA will know their fate.
A matric fail is not the death sentence it was once considered to be and your career path does not have to begin with a university degree.
Many, many more young people are opting for volunteering, going to work abroad or starting their own side hustle before contemplating post-matric study.
“While a gap year may seem tempting, it often lacks the structured foundation that a higher certificate or short course programme provides,” warns Atelisha Harilal, Head of Marketing and Student Recruitment at STADIO.
“It’s not just about taking time off; it’s about investing that time in a purposeful way. We believe in empowering students with the tools and insights they need to make informed decisions about their futures.”
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Like the education expert, many parents consider a gap year to be an unproductive break and fear that if their kids take a year off, they might never return to studying.
But more and more education experts recommend matriculants do just that after their 12-year school career.
“The prevailing wisdom is that kids are going to lose their hard-earned study skills if they take a gap year,” explains former Harvard Admissions Officer Robert Clagett.
“The opposite is true.”
According to Clagett, a gap year is a chance for kids “to take a breath . . . and do something for the pure love of doing it”.
Here are 5 reasons to take a gap year.
1) EXPERIENCE ADVENTURE
You’re a ball of energy with no job, no debt, few family obligations and little worries. Chances are you won’t get another chance to travel and live as freely as you will in your gap year.
Embrace it!
2) IT MIGHT MEAN BETTER RESULTS
A study of colleges and universities in America found students who took a gap year obtained results thatwere on average 6% higher than those of their peers.
3) MORE DIRECTION
Often students enrol for a course, realise it’s not for them and change to something completely different.
This can be expensive, so rather take time to consider exactly what you want to study before you invest time and money.
4) YOU’LL HAVE PERSPECTIVE
If you’ve experienced the wider world you’ll have a better sense of what life is about and realise that attending every party at varsity or college need not be your No 1 priority.
5) GIVE YOUR CV A BOOST
Most graduates enter the working world with little or no work experience.
No matter how humble the job, working during your gap year will look good on your CV and prove you have a work ethic.
- TIPS TO MAKE YOUR GAP YEAR COUNT
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- Volunteer
Spending a year travelling the world or doing volunteer work in a foreign country is often an unrealistic fantasy, but even if your resources are limited there are ways of spending a gap year that might impress potential universities – and your sceptical parents.
Join a volunteer programme or offer your services to a charity. You might even be able to find a charity that offers a service in line with what you plan to study, for example, aspiring veterinarians could volunteer at animal-rescue organisations.
- Study some short courses
Fit in a short course that would be useful in any field. You could learn another language or do a computer course or something more specialised that could help when you eventually start studying.
- Research funding
Once you’re sure about what you’d like to study, research bursaries offered in that field and see if you meet the requirements.
- Find work
Planning to save money to pay for your studies?
Look for work in a field closely linked to the career you’d like to follow. For example, you could work as a teacher’s assistant if you want to get a teaching qualification.
Still unsure of what to study? Arrange to do job shadowing in the field you’re interested in. You’ll get a good feel for what the work is like and have a chance to see if you’re really suited to the job.
- Travel
If you can afford to do so, travel! Look for travel volunteer programmes that offer free housing and food in return for work, or fund yourself by working abroad.
