Charitable gap year organisations often require students to raise thousands of pounds in order to participate - is there any guarantee that this money will fund local projects, or does some of it go towards paying the charity's administration costs (are there some charities that guarantee this isn't the case)?

How much goes to fund local projects varies from organisation to organisation and from project to project. Your best bet is to ask for a breakdown of where the money goes.

On the whole smaller charitable organisations supporting just one of two projects in a single country are able to put more money to the projects than those supporting several projects in a number of countries.

Charities work hard to keep their administrative costs to the minimum. But they still have to cover their costs so I think it unrealistic to expect any charity to guarantee that all the money goes to the project.

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Are there organisations that will fund/sponsor a gap year if I can't raise the money myself?

Raising the money to fund a gap year project is considered an important part of the gap year experience and all gap year organisations offer advice as to how this can be achieved.

A number of gap year organisations run bursary schemes (see www.bunac.org and www.gap.org.uk for two such organisations) but only in exceptional circumstances will these cover the full cost of the placement.

There are numerous trusts that offer grants for gap year placements. Details can be found in the “Directory of Grant Making Trusts”, a copy of which should be available in the reference section of your local library. If you are going down this line you need to make your applications well in advance. If you are awarded a grant expect to be asked to report on progress both while you are away and on your return. Do remember to thank the trustees for their help.

I want to keep in touch with home by phone and text - how easy is it to buy local sim cards, or is there a better method?

It is possible to buy local sim cards overseas. However you can now purchase an international sim card for one country or a global sim card for multiple countries before you depart. These are Pay as you Go cards and have no contract or monthly fees. You can add more credit locally, online or via the phone. You will need a reasonable modern GSM handset. No doubt there are several such cards but the one I know of is Go Sim, which purports to save up to 90 per cent.

As an older career breaker will I find myself surrounded by young kids on a charitable/volunteer/expedition trip, or is the age of gap year travellers more even nowadays?

The majority of those filling placements on expeditions and volunteer projects arranged by gap year organisations are still aged between 17 and 25 but an increasing number are older. This has led to many organisations offering programmes that are specifically designed for the older gap year traveller.

How the programmes for the groups are arranged varies from organisation to organisation so it is best to ask how it works on the ground as part of your research. You can then do a double check by asking to be put in touch with someone of your age group that has recently returned from your preferred placement. A telephone call or, better still, a meeting will hopefully allay your concerns.

Richard Oliver is chief executive of Year Out Group

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