THE sun may be shining and thoughts turning to beach holidays, but for thousands of teenagers there are more pressing issues on their minds.

By the middle of July they will be free to do whatever they like, but until then they must concentrate on working hard.

Yes, it is exam time again and though no one likes to mention it, it is hard to escape.

It will be especially difficult this year. Not because students will be taking AS-levels as well as A-levels, or because they are taking more GCSEs than ever before. But because of the one event that will keep the nation entranced during exam time.

The World Cup kicks off on Friday, May 31. The prospect of revising hard for papers in history, maths or French when there are 32 teams to watch is going to be hard for many to be able to choose between.

It will be no wonder then when exam results come back in August and we see boys have not done as well as girls. That's not to say the girls won't also be watching the World Cup, but I'm sure they won't be as easily distracted.

Perhaps the one saving grace is that the games are kicking off when exams are already taking place and won't eat into too much revision time. But the mid-morning and afternoon kick-offs will mean that those sitting exams won't be able to watch England's glory or despair.

But on the bright side, watching the game at 7.30 in the morning might help students relax so that they are in a better frame of mind for their afternoon papers.

Whatever happens, I'm sure there are teachers cursing the World Cup.

What they won't be cursing though is the news that top footballers are going back to college to learn how to become better managers.

Warwick Business School kicked off the launch of its new football management course last week.

The first players to sign up for the one-year diploma included manager of Wales, Mark Hughes and Brian McClair - a former striker at Manchester United and now coach at the club.

Several other nationwide league club bosses are also in the inaugural cohort of 17 students.

The course has been commissioned by the Footballers' Further Education and Vocational Training Society and other soccer bodies to provide a programme tailored to the needs of professional footballers.

Football tends to be a profession where its players turn their backs on education early on in their lives.

It's not uncommon for them to leave school as soon as their GCSEs are over. We all know the public opinion is that footballers are thick.

The director of the new programme says they are mistaken.

"These are people who have been in leadership positions, involved in community programmes and have coaching certificates - they are switched-on people," said Andrew Hardwick.

"We're excited about this venture, which comes after a season in which many managers have lost their jobs."

The course is a certificate in applied management and aims to hone the skills of men already in the managerial hot-seat.

It will include sections on man-management skills, financial management and business planning.

And to prove they've worked for their qualification Sparky Hughes and Brian McClair will have to write four 2,500 word assignments and a 7,500 word mini-dissertation. It sounds like more work than most uni students have to do (just kidding... I know that most courses are a waste of space, but some effort does go into the required workload).

They will also be required to attend two week-long summer schools and complete work sent to them by email.

As if life as a manager wasn't hard enough already along comes an academic challenge.

The real question remains though, if they fail the course do they get fired? Of if they're fired do they fail the course?

Ignore the critics

GOOD luck to all those taking exams this summer. Despite critics' best efforts at saying they are getting easier everyone taking their GCSEs and A-levels knows they are not.

If anything standards are getting higher because of increased criticism.

When results are out in August we should not insult those achieving high grades by rubbishing their achievements.