Gap years are frowned upon by some university academics because students can forget vital knowledge learned during A-levels.

The practice is encouraged in some disciplines, such as engineering, and does not normally concern lecturers in arts subjects.

In mathematics, however, taking a gap year is seen as a potential threat to the future performance of students.

Marcus du Sautoy, professor of mathematics at Wadham College, Oxford University, said: “I think that it is generally unhelpful to take a gap year if you are going on to do mathematics at university.

“Mathematics is a language and if you don’t speak it for a year it can become very rusty. It’s like learning a musical instrument and then not doing any playing for a year. It's hard work getting up to speed again.

“But it is also about a way of thinking. It requires quite an act of Buddhist meditation to find your way into the abstract world of mathematics and a year out can often make it quite tough to regain that meditative state.

“There is also a rather single-minded focus you need in the early years of your advanced mathematical training that can often be difficult to achieve after the onslaught of excitements of temples in India or the jungles of South America that a gap year provides.

“My advice to any budding mathematician thinking of taking a gap year: just wait for all the conferences that you’ll be attending in exciting parts of the world as a research mathematician.”

Cambridge University’s faculty of mathematics says in its guide to admissions: “Only a small minority of mathematics students take a gap year. Some of those who do, apply for a deferred place before they leave school.

“Although in many subjects the extra maturity gained from a gap year is a great asset, in mathematics this has to be balanced against the danger of going stale or ‘off the boil’.

“If you do decide that you want a gap year then you should plan to keep up your mathematics in some way if possible, and you should certainly get back into good practice before you start the course.”

Dr Geoff Parks, director of admssions at the university, said: “In Cambridge there is some concern, specifically in mathematics, about students missing a year.

“There’s a feeling we would want to be sure their maths skills wouldn’t atrophy too much during their gap year.

“We have arrangements in place to make sure that doesn’t happen, by linking with the Year in Industry programme provided by the maths department at Loughborough University.”

The programme offers a distance learning course to students while they complete a year in the world of work, but Cambridge maths students can take advantage of this, even if they are travelling to far-flung places for pleasure rather than business.

Dr Parks said: “We would rely on students to use their common sense. If they did let their maths skills slip they would struggle.”

He added: “In science courses the attitude to gap years is neutral and for engineering, my own discipline, it is positively encouraged - particularly if it is a year in industry.

“It enables them to have a worthwhile experience, learn more about the engineering sector and helps contextualise what they learn at university.”

Even going abroad and working on projects, such as well-building, is encouraged as so many schemes need engineering skills, Dr Parks said.

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