I think the course of the 60s was a little more...er, classical than these days. Really swinging a compass, and long hand written guff, so few if any, a-b-c-d answers until you got to the ARBs. That was a separately run department I recall.
When I was at Cass, there was a guy next to me that had just completed a physics degree at a good uni...and didn't think there was much difference in the general work. We were both struggling on the steep part of the curve. He said, "It's not that there is anything particularly complicated...it's just that there is so much of it.".
(did I get that second full stop right?)
And as for the ATP. As I have mentioned before, six working days in the UK translated into ONE HOUR + 30mins to check a few things over, but to be fair, that was after the former exams and some experience.