Hello Parents,
As parents, you recognize the importance of fostering resilience, boosting confidence, and providing enriching experiences for your children. Our gap year programmes are designed with these goals in mind, combining challenges, cultural immersion, and meaningful contributions to help students grow into well-rounded individuals.
Gap years are constantly evolving, influenced by the latest trending destinations. From Asia and Central America to Australia, we've covered them all. We understand that gap year travelers and their parents often have different priorities. While your teenager might be looking for the best adventure, your primary concern is likely their safety.
As a mother of two boys who both took gap years, I know firsthand the anxiety that comes with sending your child abroad. Planning a gap year can feel overwhelming, but that's why I'm here - to help you every step of the way. We frequently hear from parents eager to support their children's dreams but unsure where to begin. To make it easier, we've created a comprehensive parent's guide covering the five essential topics to discuss when planning a gap year. Check out the link below to access the guide.
Our volunteer programs are increasingly popular among gap year travelers. These programmes blend meaningful projects with exciting adventures, ensuring a dynamic and enriching experience. Led by passionate and professional coordinators, participants can dive right into exploring and contributing from the moment they arrive, without worrying about the logistics. The team element fosters camaraderie, and we manage all the travel arrangements, offering support before, during, and after the program.
Next steps
Download the parent gap year video and guide here
Get in touch - 01672 519922 to chat about how we can help your gapper.
We are one of the UK’s most experienced Gap Year companies, set up (and still run) by Guy and me (Milly) Whitehead in 2002. We provide a collection of financially-protected, high-quality, structured gap year programmes where safety and customer care comes first from our office in the pretty market town of Marlborough, Wiltshire.
A personal service – this is our daily mantra – the office team go beyond the call of duty to make sure every volunteer (and family) feels confident abroad and is being supported from start to finish by our UK staff and overseas project co-ordinators.
P.S. If you are starting to feel somewhat envious of the amazing adventure your child is about to commence on, why not think about heading away yourself? We now offer snappy MidLife trips for the adventurous. Have a little look over here...
We deliver travel experiences and team volunteer programmes that they can't easily create themselves, pushing gappers beyond the hostel-hopping trend.
Variety - each programme is a carefully crafted itinerary which includes a mix of conservation and community projects, set in different locations, interwoven with adventure to provide a dynamic, ever-changing travel experience.
Team travel – our Leapers travel as part of a team of like-minded gappers, from all over the world. This team experience gives confidence to the traveller, reassurance to parents, a great social life, and more hands to complete the projects.
Personal development - through this unique experience the gapper is able to build self-confidence, spread their wings and gain independence all vital for making a successful transition into adulthood.
Yes
indeed, and right now a trusted company is worth its weight in gold as
we help navigate the challenges of international travel. Our number one priority is keeping your Leaper safe, and our prices reflect the level of care that we provide. We always go above and beyond to ensure everyone who joins one of our gap year programmes has a positive experience.
Cost wise you are receiving a complex itinerary of multiple locations, projects, adventure activities, group accommodation, food and drinking water (not industry standard!), transport and all project materials overseen by project leaders who live and travel with the team.
Time wise the gapper hits the ground running, they are exploring and contributing from the moment they arrive. The project leaders help them navigate their new surroundings without having to worry about logistics.
In the background we remove the stress. From first-aid trained project leaders on the ground managing risk to our 24-hour personal phone service should the unthinkable happen, to being on hand to get all that pre-travel admin in order. You'll have someone to turn to before, during and after the programme.
Like flights and visas etc? We do and we will advise with all administration requirements. We're here to help you through every step of the gap year travel process, and we can assure you there's no question too weird to ask us - at this point we're pretty sure we've heard it all. We've had many
We organise a team flight from the UK through Trailfinders, who provide great service and value. This ensures everyone flies out together making the long-haul journey more enjoyable. We're also used to helping Leapers coordinate their flights from all sorts of weird and wonderful places, so rest assured that no matter where they're flying from, we can help get them squared away for travel.
Visas/injections/kit/travel advice etc. – on booking you will be given a family login to a personal account where you will find all the information required for pre-departure organisation in your 'Knowledge Hub'
Communication is key for us and this is a key part of all our programmes and how we run The Leap.
Our team in the UK and overseas are all connected so regular updates can be accessed and information shared if required. Where possible there is always WiFi so the Leapers can keep in touch with families directly. If there are periods when this isn't possible we will let you know. We send out weekly updates to parents whilst your Leaper is away with us, keeping you updated as to what they're getting up to (they're often having too much fun to remember mum and dad back home). We also post photos of the team and what they get up to on our Instagram account @gapyearexperts
On departure we will provide you with the emergency numbers for The Leap's 24 hour emergency phone number. At all times whilst on the programme the Leapers will be supported by our caring staff and they will be encouraged to talk to them if they have any issues or concerns. If you as a parent have any concerns we ask you to contact us in the Leap office first.
With every challenge comes an element of risk – so our detailed risk assessments, safety audits and management systems are paramount to our gap year programme planning and execution. We follow the highest standards, guidelines and industry/government practice expressed by: BS8848 Trading Standards, The Year Out Group, and Gap Year Association.
On arrival in country the team will be given a thorough safety briefing at each location and will be provided with secure accommodation, risk-assessed vehicles, medical evacuation access, and tested emergency communications, with access to professional medics and healthcare professionals to ensure emergencies are swiftly resolved.
Our detailed risk assessments and safety audits for each of our destinations are available on request.
Yes, we are.
We're a member of the Year Out Group and the first British company to be accredited by the Gap Year Association, which let me tell you involved 6 months of grueling interrogation.
Our safety procedures are led by the advice of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 'Know Before You Go' campaign.
Your money is financially protected through www.ipplondon.co.uk and your flights are booked through Trailfinders.
