It is strange how much GCSEs have changed in just a few years.

When I was in Year 9, four years ago, I chose my additional GCSE options to the compulsory English, maths, science and RE. At the mere age of 14, I struggled choosing options which would systematically close doors at A Level, degree level and therefore career level depending on my combination of choices.

The passing fancies of 14-year-old me would dictate my future academic path and opportunities.

Fortunately, I made largely sensible decisions on my additional GCSEs, eventually opting for two languages whilst studying an extra language after school and also choosing history and drama.

However, it has come to my attention that now, students in Year 8 are being encouraged to start to think about which GCSEs to take, in a bid by schools to raise GCSE results.

It seems ridiculous that pupils must make such important decisions at such a young age when the future seems so distant and minds haven't fully decided on a path.

Another way in which GCSEs have changed to become so much more stressful is the age when pupils start working towards their final grade. If young people must choose their options at a younger age, they will likely end up preparing for them and sitting the exams at an earlier point in their school lives. GCSE exams were originally designed to be taken at the age of 16.

I remember having to sit maths and science papers at the end of Year 9 when I was 14, at a time when TV and listening to music were still more important to me than schoolwork.

This meant I ended up having to re-sit two of the three papers to get the grades I needed for my subjects, which caused much more stress in the next two years.

Ultimately, worries me that student wellbeing is being sacrificed in order to try to gain better GCSEs. This may have an effect because what a young person thought was important in Year 8, may have changed by Year 11.

Charlotte Wilson, 18, King's Lynn