Exam venues

[Tim_Q]

I have my booking form here for the November exams. I've just looked over a few past topics on exam venues but it doesn't seem to have been discussed too much.....

Firstly get this off my chest - 4 UK venues, 1 in Scotland and the 3 English ones are all in the South East! :* Surely there is a need to have at least one up North?!
I live near Manchester so must choose from the 3 SE venues. Oxford is the closest, I don't fancy braving their expensive student accommodation which has been criticised on prune in the past but plenty of B&Bs to choose from.
Silsoe has had the most coverage here before with mixed feelings on the on-site accommodation but generally everything sounds very convenient.
I have not found anything at all on Gatwick which I assumed to be the biggest venue? Could anyone comment on Gatwick? Where is it for a start, Aviation House? Plenty of accommodation round here to choose from but anything in walking distance?

Any feedback from those who have been there/done that would be most appreciated! :ok:

Tim

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

Tim, I stayed in a Travel Inn (or was it Travel Lodge?) for the June Exams, 50 quid a night and perfectly adequate. There were 3 of us there and we had transport to drive to the CAA, however, by foot it would most likely take around 20 minutes.

You are quite correct the CAA building is called Aviation House and it is located on the south side of the airfield.

I did have a brochere for that chain of hotels, but I cannot find the bloody thing. I did notice that there were a number of hotels around that area, all pretty much the same. Not sure if the CAA at Gatwick would help in getting precise locations, maybe give them a try?

[Northern Highflyer]

If you choose Gatwick then give the CAA a call. They can fax or post you a list of accommodation with phone numbers and prices per night.

As for location I couldn't agree more. There really needs to be somewhere in the North, say Manchester or Leeds where the exams could be taken.

Who do we contact and how do we go about trying to get this issue addressed ?

[moku]

Regarding B&B's at Gatwick. If you can find some in Horley you can get the bus directly outside that will take straight to Aviation House and also the South Terminal and Gatwick train station.
They run approx every 10-20 mins.
I will try and locate the name of the B&B.

[mad_jock]

Glasgow is a nice exam center.

Very unstressed, they give you 2 large desks which is a god send for flight planning.

Accom is 5 mins walk from the exam room. Food is included in the room rate. The accom is in the halls of residence at the nautical college pretty basic stuff.

The nautical college is 10mins walk from central station, and you are 10mins walk from the pubs in the city.

Worth thinking about.


MJ

[Flying Boat]

I sat in Glasgow & Gatwick.

I heard a rumour that there used to be one in MAN but that closed as a venue.

People I spoke to at GLA said the halls were too noisy, for last minute study. I stayed at the Tulip Inn (5 minutes walk from bedroom to Exm Room), shown on the CAA map as Days inn. £59.95 a night plus bfast. Very comfortable & recommended.

I stayed at the Travel Lodge, South of the Runway at Gatwick.
£49.95 a night. Also comfortable & recommended for last minute study.

The locals told me that the police don't like you to walk from this hotel because it is a very busy dual carriageway almost all the way to Aviation House.

Good Luck for the Exams.

FB

[Tim_Q]

Some good info so far, thanks! Seems Gatwick would cost me about £50 a night so I may be better off in Oxford as it's closer and cheaper to stay.
I may well call the CAA and ask why there isn't a centre at Manchester as well as ask for any accommodation details they have.

[moku]

This is one link .B&B LGW (http://www.stayinstyle.com/bbprofile.cfm?search=location&currentrow=6&searchsection=South%20East%20England&searchsubsection=Surrey) in the gatwick area. We stayed at a place on this road. This road is full of B&B's!
Prices are from £28 a night and there is a bus stop close by that will take to straight to Aviation house and the airport.

It is in a fairly quiet location also with plenty of options for food
at night.

Good luck with the exams. Gatwick is a good venue to take them

[Tim_Q]

Cheers Moku, that sounds more like it, that one looks good for £28! Now if I can just blag a cheap flight into LGW I'll be laughing :ok: ........

[gabu]

I've been to oxford & Silsoe and Silsoe is the better of the two. Additionally I have spoken to other students who have been to Gatwick & Silsoe and they recommend Silsoe.

Oxfords on-campus accomodation is appalling and the food is even worse.

Silsoe is good because you are in the middle of rural befordshire excellent on-campus accomadation 2 mins walk from the venue, and the food is a little better.

Gatwick I believe is a hard work, the B&B's are quite a distance form the venue the traffic can be horrendous in the morning as too with finding a parking place.

If you like to sit in exam halls on your own then Glasgows for you!!

[mad_jock]

A negative point for Glasgow is the fact that the annex is now used for help in the community day center.

So I have heard of day center students walking in and getting a bit upset half way through an exam.

Or as a local in a green footy shirt said.

Just look for the place with all the window lickers. Which for a celtic supporter I thought was a bit pots and kettles.

[VFE]

Silsoe is good but the accomodation at the conference centre is overpriced bigtime baby. The venue itself is your typical assembly type hall and if you do stay in the conference centre you are literally within crawling distance of the exam hall.

The conference centre is priced at £43 for a single en-suite which is ridiculous! It is obvious the staff are aware that the majority of guests are student pilots so I would imagine this is a clear-cut case of another establishment taking advantage of us and raping us for every penny at every corner.

The only positive note is that you get used to it after a while.

VFE.