Am a member and have done quite a bit of flying out of the aero club which is the same place, same system of flying,- all good.
However, I found that getting into the "Acedemy" is quite a hard task. They are only interested in people who will do the Whole Pro Pilots course from start to finish. They do advertise other courses such as the Straight CPL and straight MEIR but I have never heard of anybody doing them. Getting a student loan is a different story as well. You can only get it on the Pro Pilots course if you do the whole thing and even then you'd be very lucky. You can't get it on any other course (except C-Cat only if you have done the pro pilots and only if you're lucky) although advertised.
So bottom line from me,- If you have previous flying experience, they don't want you and, they will and do turn people away. That is why I have done my studies elsewhere. And it wasn't just me, I know two other people in the same boat.
You can do anything through the aero club but no student loan. Other flight schools are much more accommodating e.g nelson aviation college and mainland air. You can do anything, any time (within reason) and on a student loan.