Let’s play a quick word association game, where I say a word and you reply with the first word that comes into your mind. My word is “gap year” (OK, that’s two words). Was your response word “travel”?

As my son prepares to take a gap year (and my daughter finishes first-year university after taking a year’s break), I’m realising just how strongly gap years are associated with travel. Yet, for many school leavers contemplating a year away from study, travel is either well down the list of options, only a small part of their next 12 to 15 months, or not on the agenda at all.

Taking a gap year between Year 12 and university seems to be a modern-day phenomenon, yet I did exactly this when I finished school (ahem) nearly 30 years ago. Back then, we called it “defer for a year”.

When I finished school, travel was the last thing on my mind, partly because I was only 16 but also because I had exactly zero money. Increasing both my age and bank balance before starting uni seemed like a wise decision. I got a........

© The Guardian