Part of my ATCO training included a PPL course and to prepare us for this our 4 weekInitial Training Course included subjects like Met, Navigation and Air Law which were part of the syllabus for both ATCO and PPL training. Of course our ATCO Medicals also covered us for PPL training.
We were allowed (5 or 6 at a time) 6 weeks mon - fri in October/November to complete our PPL courses and naturally at that time of year, many days were 'lost' due to bad weather (sometimes as many as 3 days a week)
I had a slight advantage over my colleagues having some 500 glider launches to my credit (= 500 landings) so not surprisingly, I soloed first and actually completed the syllabus in 31 hours flying instruction, the requirement for an 'approved' course then (1971) being a minimum of 35 hours instruction as I had not achieved Bronze or Silver C gliding badges, my flying having been all in Air Cadet gliders.
All of us, even those who had no previous experience, completed the PPL course in the allotted 6 weeks.