Ross Gribbin, 18, a student at Prior Pursglove College, Guisborough, is to spend his gap year before university, in China, teaching English to schoolchildren.
He said: "It's going to be a tremendous challenge. I'm particularly interested in the cultural aspect of the country, and I'm very excited about spending a year there."
His placement, after A-levels, could be in a city or remote country region.
He said: "The difficult bit will be the language. I understand that there are 18 dialects."
Ross is studying A-level maths, physics and history.
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