One thing to point out - this is real life. You are asking to be given a rating which allows you to fly IFR, so you'd better be able to deal with problems with an IFR flight!!!
After I got my IR, I deliberately planned my first airways trip to be very easy - Blackpool to Cardiff. Join controlled airspace, follow one airway (A25 I think?) all the way to Cardiff. Only possible complexity was that the base of the airway was, at points, too high for me to get into without oxygen, and I didn't really want to be on oxygen, but I didn't expect that to cause any problems. I even spoke to a controller at my home airfield, who told me to expect to be cleared to re-enter controlled airspace as soon as I left the airway.
On the day, I joined controlled airspace, and then left controlled airspace when the airway base started to rise. I only had a very short amount of time outside controlled airspace - and was totally shocked when Manchester Control handed me over to London Information - they were the last people I expected to be talking to!
London Information were busy with cross-channel VFR traffic, and didn't really seem sure what to do with me. I was getting closer and closer to going back into controlled airspace again, and didn't have a clue where or when my clearance would come. I had a mad scramble to try to find my VFR chart, and figure out how far I could go without descending. I'd just got my top-of-descent point re-planned to remain outside controlled airspace, and with less than a mile to go before this new point, I was handed over to Cardiff Approach, who gave me my clearance.
So - treat the test exactly as if it were any other flight, and do whatever you need to do to conduct the flight safely.
FFF
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