The Leap was born around a kitchen table with a wobbly-legged chair and a dinosaur of a green Apple Mac. But the real story began long before that. After university, I (Milly) stepped into the world of school expeditions, organising teams of students across Africa and Asia. It was the kind of work that lit me up: travel with purpose, challenge with heart, and a sense of adventure baked into every mile. It was in Kenya, while working, that I met Guy.

Guy was born and raised in Kenya, with the bush as his backyard and a deep respect for wild spaces and local communities. After serving in the British Army, he returned to his roots with a passion for leadership, logistics, and getting stuck into projects that mattered.

Together, we realised we could do something different, something better. We wanted to create a new kind of gap year experience: one that combined adventure, structure, and real, meaningful contribution. So in 2002, we launched The Leap. We started by placing Leapers in safari camps, then quickly evolved into the team-based, impact-driven expeditions we still champion today.

Adventure has always been our heartbeat, and The Leap was our way of sharing that with the world.
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After the pandemic, we regrouped, refocused and took a bold new step forward. In 2022, we launched a new era of The Leap, and by 2023, we were proudly celebrating over 20 years in business (something that still feels slightly surreal).

Alongside this came the launch of our School and Under-18 Leaps: bespoke, accredited expeditions designed to give students not only unforgettable adventures, but also real-world work experience, personal development and a Level 3 International Volunteering Diploma worth 16 UCAS points.

As the world changes, so do the needs of young people, and we’ve evolved with it,  but the heart of what we do remains exactly the same: Helping people grow through challenge, culture and contribution.

Two decades in, and The Leap just keeps on leaping.