HBHS Old Boy Drew Divehall at Harrow

I have now been at Harrow School in London for five months, and so far my time here has far exceeded my expectations. I work at Harrow as a gap student or 'gappy' and my responsibilities include coaching rugby, cricket and football, working in the School Office/Sports Centre/IT Department, running Year 9 PE lessons, and working in one of the 12 boarding houses.

Obviously I was nervous, but at the same time excited, about coming to work at a school in the UK when I only knew a few people over here. But I learnt very quickly that you need to be prepared to step outside of your comfort zone and that it is easy to make new friends and adapt to the environment.

The opportunity to work at a school such as Harrow is one that I am very grateful for. The history of the school is remarkable; some of the buildings here are over 500 years old and the facilities which the school has are amazing. Harrow is set on 600 acres in London.  It features 15 rugby fields and 12 grass cricket fields. It also has a new Sports Centre which the All Blacks and Springboks are coming to train in during their end-of-year tours.

Harrow is also one of the leading academic schools in the UK.  The boys here are extremely well-rounded and since it is a full boarding school, when they are not in class, training for sport, or participating in drama or other activities they are studying or in 'prep'. Some of the notable old boys include Winston Churchill and eight other British Prime Ministers.

However, work is only really a small part of what a gap year offers. Experiencing the vast range of European culture, growing as an individual and, as I said earlier, stepping out of your comfort zone  is a huge part of a year working in England. As well, you get the chance to travel around Europe!   So far myself and Brynn McKenzie (2011 Captain of Sport) have travelled to Ireland and Spain during our mid-term breaks. We plan to visit another fifteen European countries during the summer!

A few weekends ago, myself and about 30 or 40 other gappies went to the London Sevens. Two HBHS old boys, Kylem O'Donnell and Joseph Webber, were playing for the New Zealand Sevens Rugby team. Brynn and I managed to catch up with Joseph after making our way through a mob of children asking for his autograph. Joe has been travelling around the world doing what he loves for the past six months and is now a world champion.  It just goes to show where true hard work and dedication can get you.

 The reason why I chose to do a gap year is simply because I was not sure what I wanted to study at University.  However, owever a lot of gappies do know what they want to do and are simply taking a year off study. I can comfortably say that it is one of the best decisions I could have made. I am now looking at extending my stay in the UK and possibly studying here next year. 

If this is something that you might be interested in, be aware that the opportunity to take a gap year is not one that will come about from nothing. Generally, to be eligible for a gap position at a UK school, you will need to a leadership role at your own school, to be a confident, enthusiastic individual and to an extent, be a keen sportsman, as well. This means working hard at school, building good relationships with your fellow students and staff and most importantly, making the most of the opportunities which HBHS has to offer. A gap year is not necessarily for everyone, but if you put yourself in the position at school to be able do this type of thing, and feel you can take a year out from study or full time work I would absolutely recommend it.

Drew Divehall