Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives

20 years ago it was considered a 'doss year' (waste/screw-around etc.), and the general perception was that it was for those that require a little more time in the oven developmentally before proceeding to the next stage. I was a child then so I don't know if that was true, but certainly the majority of people who took it were not academically inclined.

So the article suggests that has changed - people who take the YT year get significantly higher results in their senior years.