Aha! Now I am sure who A & C is :-)
Quite agree that it has been a revelation for me flying the same 800ft/military circuit pattern. I now get frustrated when I go elsewhere (e.g. Stapleford) and have a little cross-country in the circuit.
FWIW I was taught 15 deg AOB in the climb but definitely 30 for nice sharp turns downwind/base/final. At Welshpool where I trained the circuit was high - 1500ft QFE - because of mountains. We extended our upwind leg and didn't start the crosswind turn until around 800ft, allowing for us to be at 1500ft as we turned downwind (mostly, though with a heavy instructor not always quite
) At Kidlington the circuit is 1200ft QFE and sometimes there we wouldn't quite make circuit height until after the downwind turn, depending on ac performance.
Tim