i was actually asking more in the general sense rather than from a Nats operations point of view. but thanks pprune.
i always thought there to be either 3 or 5 types of air traffic control:
3:Aerodrome, Approach, Area
5:Ground, Tower, Approach, Low level, High level
it's just that there is a poll on our course 209 forum asking "which would you prefer: Aerdrome or Area?
since i would prefer Approach i wasn't sure as i always thought approach to be a breed of control in itself.