With many projects and organisations offering tailor-made gap years, it comes as no surprise more than a third of students decide to take a year out before university to hone soft skills. What is now becoming increasingly more common is for graduates to look towards taking a career gap between university and graduate schemes, in order to boost their CV. Reasons for taking some time out vary: an urge to travel, work on voluntary projects, get a taste of working life...Yet, despite this increase, with tuition fees set to rise up to £9,000 per annum, many A-Level students are thinking twice about delaying their degree. Critics (including David Mitchell) have shunned the gap year as a waste of time, even going so far as to say: “the less they know of the unreal world across the glittering sea, the less cheated they'll feel.”