THOUSANDS of Dorset teenagers are following in the footsteps of Princes William and Harry.

Gap years are now taken by more than 200,000 British youngsters every year - considered by them as a crucial rite of passage before starting university or full-time work.

Some throw themselves into Third World projects, some teach English, others trek through far-flung places, seeking casual work along the way.

But for a tiny percentage gap years end in tragedy, as one did for 19-year-old Caroline Stuttle, thrown to her death from a Queensland bridge by drug addict Ian Previte.

He was convicted of her murder yesterday, the day after Caroline's mother held a seminar in London on gap year safety.

Marjorie Marks-Stuttle has spent two years setting up Caroline's Rainbow Foundation, which is designed to help students stay safe on their travels.

She said: "We want to become the first port of call for gap year students, to raise awareness and act as an information and support service."

There are hundreds of organisations, charities and websites offering help with plans for gap year adventures.

Some, like Project Trust, visit schools to try and recruit direct.

Miriam Andrews, 18, was suitably impressed when it visited Ferndown Upper recently.

"I'm hoping to go to South Africa next year to work on a project stopping children being led astray into crime," she said. "After the trust visited my school I researched more into it, looking things up on the internet.

"I believe if I don't go I will regret it later in life. Yes, I'm a little worried about safety because you do hear horror stories about people raped and murdered, but thousands go each year and nothing happens to them."

Fellow sixth-former Joe Cole agrees. "You can just as easily get mugged in London," he said. "Everything you do and everywhere you go in life has some aspect of risk involved.

"As long as you are sensible and you have your wits about you, you should be okay. I went on a month mini-gap to Equador this summer and some of the other teams got mugged. Ours didn't because we took notice of the warnings and avoided certain places."

The 17-year-old says he has several gap destinations in mind for 2005.

"I'd like to go to Africa, or join my friend James working at a French ski resort where I could qualify as an instructor, or do six weeks in Canada.

"I can even imagine not coming back if something better comes up."

Judy Miles, head of sixth form at Bournemouth School for Girls, says that 16 of its most recent leavers are currently abroad on gap adventures.

She said: "I have a postcard here from Lindsay Bennett who's in Berlin working on the Sachsenhausen Memorial. She says it's great doing something hands-on using what she's learnt in the classroom."

Adam Corden, 17, from Bournemouth School, said: "Ideally I want to buy a Land Rover and drive with friends from Cape Town to Nairobi. But the logistics are huge and I may end up going with a company that organises lorry trips.

"I'm not worried about safety. There are places in Africa which are far less dangerous than Manchester. I wouldn't let fears like that make me miss out on an experience of a lifetime.

"I'm due to do a degree in law and could end up living my entire life in a suit, with no chance ever again to do this sort of thing."

Head of recruitment at Project Trust, Alex Macleam-Bristol, said: "When we first started in 1967 it used to be seen as something that just pupils from private schools did.

"But there's been a huge cultural shift and now 80 per cent come from state schools. We give all our young people safety training and we have support staff where they are."

First year Bournemouth University media and communications student Elly Davies has just returned from a year spent travelling through South Africa, Australia and the Far East.

"I'm so glad I did it," she said. "The experience has made me more independent, and more appreciative of what we have here in the UK."

First published: Oct 16