In response to Bex's earlier post...
Interesting that you should ask about the phonetic alphabet, it brought to mind something that might come in useful for any applicants out there with a few months to spare.
When I decided to apply I started looking around for aviation things to do while I was going through the application (no assumptions on getting in of course, but once I'd made my mind up I would have kept applying until they told me to stop). Having worked at MAN leaving school in a very non-aviation capacity as a hotel receptionist, I'd met a couple of people who suggested I try my hand at dispatch for a while. After waiting around for the summer to kick off I got my clipboard and started back at MAN as a dispatcher for one of the handling agents (not mentioning any names but it was the big one).
Okay, so the pay was horrendous, the hours were terribly antisocial and the company itself... not the most organised outfit you could work for. But I enjoyed every minute of my 7 months there and it helped me out a lot.
If you really want to see what goes on at an aerodrome, I'd highly recommend it. One of the other girls on my course worked for another handling agent for a couple of years. It pays off, and the good thing is that it's flexible and temporary so you can leave whenever you want to start at CATC!
If anybody's remotely interested, check out the forum (though there's not much recruitment on it, or PM me and I'll tell you everything I can.
(Maybe we can kick this thread back on to the productive side...?)