With the greatest respect smellysnelly you wife will have to get used to a hell of a lot of sacrafices over the next 2 years or so between college start and validation. Life as a trainee atco isnt all I can do what I want when I (or the wife) wants. I understand where she might be coming from but there is a real expectation for trainees to work damn hard and make some choices that in the short term those outside work may not like.
Best of luck at the college