Each year we recruit four overseas students who have decided to take a GAP year. Like most independent schools, our GAP year starts around the first week of January (when UK schools return from the Christmas break) and ends mid-December, just before the next Christmas holiday.

What countries do we recruit from?
We have tended to recruit from a few partner schools in Australia, New Zealand or South Africa, but we are always open to applications from any country that has immigration agreements with the UK allowing young people to work GAP years here.

What type of person are we looking for?
GAP placements can vary a great deal across schools, but here at Pilgrims’ our GAPs are primarily used for sports coaching and boarding duties.

Sports
As an all-boys school, our three main sports are football, rugby and cricket. We play one each term. Football is played from September to Christmas, rugby from Christmas to Easter and the cricket stumps come out from Easter until the summer break in July. The more playing and coaching experience you have across these three core sports, the stronger your application would potentially be.

Do we need you to be proficient in all three sports?
Whilst experience in all three would be fantastic, other applications that we would consider strong would be:

• An applicant who is proficient in two of the three sports, with a passion for other sports or activities that fit our wider school programme (rowing, golf, sailing, swimming, hockey, drama, music, outdoor adventure etc)
• An applicant that is only proficient in one of the three sports but has played that one sport at a really high standard and perhaps has coaching experience in another sport.
• There is no magic formula but playing time in all three sports (whether in a school team or socially) is the first thing we tend to look for on your CV.

Boarding
As a boarding school, with both domestic and international boys in our boarding community, we also recruit our GAPs to help in our two boarding houses. We look after around 90 boys aged between 8 and 13, from around a dozen different countries. Our GAPs need to be kind and compassionate young people who genuinely care about others and who can work with our young boarders as leaders and mentors, inspiring them to be the best version of themselves that they can be. Boarding is a 24-hour a day operation, so GAPs will be expected a couple of times a week to help wake the boys up for school and put them to bed at the end of the day.

Other Duties
Outside of sports provision and boarding life, our GAPs also help many other staff within the school, from the Front Office staff to Pre-Prep teachers, from helping with after-school clubs to supervising in the music department and Forest School. In total, there are about 14 different jobs that our GAPs do in a typical rota. It is a varied and diverse role, working with many different teachers and staff in a whole variety of ways.

School Events and Trips
GAPS are genuinely welcomed into the school staff team, so, alongside the weekly rhythm of the school, they will also participate in several special events in our school calendar. Whether it be putting on a sketch at the Christmas Talent Show, helping behind the scenes of a school play, travelling with a year group on a language trip to France or getting muddy on a camping week to Devon, each term and season of the year will bring with it opportunities to be involved with school life, in an even more meaningful way.

On the more formal side of school life, our GAPs will also be expected to dress formally and attend our traditional events such as school concerts, the Remembrance service or our end of year Prize Giving. They will also be in our annual school photo each summer.

GAP life outside of school
Winchester is a great location for any GAP who is looking to maximise their time when not on duty. We are one hour from central London by train, one hour from Heathrow by car and 13 minutes from Southampton Airport (which has a wide range of European destinations). GAPs who enjoy their year in the UK the most, tend to be young people who get stuck in and make the most of their time off travelling at every opportunity. In roughly a 340-day GAP year, around 130 days consist of time off (main school holidays, half-term breaks or Exeat weekends (when even our full-time boarders go home!). We are constantly talking to our GAPs about their travel plans, advising them on the best destinations and most cost-effective travel routes. A summer holiday, touring over a dozen foreign countries between mid-July and late August is not uncommon. Nor is a quick flight to a capital city for 36 hours on a weekend off. As part of their school role, our GAPs also get discounted rail travel!

When does recruitment start?
Recruitment starts up to one whole year in advance with CVs starting to arrive from students in their final year of school each December/January for a GAP start the following January. Applicants are usually then invited to participate in a 45-minute informal, fact-finding call to begin with. If, after this call, the applicant is interested in working their GAP year at Pilgrims’ they are asked to complete an application form. They are then usually invited to participate in a formal interview which again takes place online by video call. Successful candidates will usually be offered a place shortly after their interview. The recruitment process broadly takes place on a first come-first serve basis; meaning that as soon as we identify four candidates that meet our criteria and have accepted our offer, we close the recruitment process for that year. Only if there are problems with the recruitment checks or VISA processes, would we re-open the process for alternative candidates.

Is it still worth contacting us, even if the recruitment has closed?
Yes, you never know what might happen so email us with your CV! We also have close connections with other schools who use GAPs so we may also be able to find you a GAP role at a school close by.

Do we recruit female GAPs, even though we are an all boys school?
Yes! We tend to recruit two male and two female GAPS so that our GAP team can offer a diverse leadership model to our boys.

How do I contact Pilgrims’ about a GAP year?
The best person to email is Paul Jennings, our GAP co-ordinator. His email address is pjennings@pilgrims-school.co.uk