Can you believe it? Students who are working furiously towards next summer's GCSE examinations are already having to make their A-level or post-16 vocational course choices.

As if it were not tough enough that the course-work element of GCSE means 15 year olds now face a series of deadlines through to next summer, they must now decide which courses they want to start almost a year from now.

That requires serious thinking about what they might study at university and what sort of career they want.

This is the time of year when school sixth forms and colleges hold their open evenings.

So as well as deciding what to study many students also have to decide where they want to be next year, either school, sixth form college or further education college.

While they are preparing for GCSEs, pupils also need to decide what is next

Of course, schools and colleges have a tough job time-tabling A-levels, particularly if they want to offer as wide a range of options as possible.

It is reasonable for them to ask for at least some indication of the subjects students want to take up.

But equally, it is very difficult indeed for students to make these choices when they do not yet know how well they will do in their GCSE subjects.

Will they decide to drop French now and then find, next August, that they have received an A* at GCSE and want to think again?

Most schools and colleges do try to allow some flexibility as late as possible.

But there is a real conflict here between the time-tablers' need for definitive information and students' natural desire to leave the decision until as late as possible.

AS-level reforms

What makes this such a difficult issue is that, despite the recent AS-level reforms, students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland still face a dramatic narrowing of the curriculum at age 16.

Typically they will go from taking eight to ten subjects, across the arts and sciences, to just four.

At one stage, there was talk of students taking five AS-levels in the first year of sixth form.

However it seems that four has become the norm. This makes it difficult to maintain breadth of study and keep open the widest possible range of university options.

At this stage, after the difficult first year of the new AS-levels, no-one is likely to suggest further reform. To do so would risk a metaphorical lynching from students and teachers alike.

There is the added pressure from parents who may want their children to follow a particular course either because they did so themselves or, worse still, because they wished they had done so

But the issue of sixth form breadth has not been resolved. It is one of the reasons why some schools are increasingly looking at the International Baccalaureate as an alternative.

Long term there is perhaps a case for abolishing GCSEs and having an extended four year, Key Stage three, followed by three years of sixth form study.

For now, though, the current system means momentous decisions.

Students would be well advised to start visiting their careers offices and libraries to at least start the process of thinking about university course and career requirements.

There is, of course, the enticing option of taking some of the many new sixth form subjects which were not available at GCSE.

Media studies, psychology, theatre studies, philosophy, sports studies or economics may be amongst subjects students have not encountered before.

It is always tempting to jump into something new just because it is new.

But it is no good taking theatre studies, psychology and sports studies if you decide later on that you really want to study languages or medicine at university.

Parental pressure

Then there is the added pressure which comes from parents who may want their children to follow a particular course either because they did so themselves or, worse still, because they wished they had done so.

This is one of the first really big life decisions which students should make for themselves, albeit after discussion with others.

There is probably little point in doing pure sciences and mathematics because your parents want you to become a doctor when you hate those subjects.

At A-level, much more than at GCSE, enthusiasm is almost a requirement for success.

School versus college

The other big dilemma for some is whether to stay on at school or to transfer to a college.

The advantage of college is that it usually offers a wider range of options, particularly vocational courses.

Many students also yearn for the greater freedom, and "adult" atmosphere, that college offers.

However there are great advantages to staying on at school too.

For a start it is a familiar setting and, with the advent of the AS-level exams, there is less time than there used to be for settling in to a new environment before the exams begin.

If you stay on at school then the teachers will know you.

Some might see this as a disadvantage but on the whole because they know students from lower down the school they should be able to pick up any problems that occur with the difficult transition to sixth form study.

Most sixth forms also offer students far greater freedom in the sixth form than they had lower down the school.

There is also the benefit of being a mentor or leader to younger students.

Everyone's decisions will be made for different reasons.

But, for all 15 year olds and their parents, the next few months are a difficult time. They deserve our patience and support.