<<NATS have chopped many 100s of cadets - all of whom were originally selected for their apitude.>>
But that's hardly the fault of NATS. I trained controllers for many years, both at home and abroad and have little regard for all the clever tests. All those I've "taken" for fun I've failed miserably, yet I've validated at 5 ATC units. Those who are apparently going to be ace controllers at square-one often don't make it. Aptitude tests prove nothing - get the bloke in front of a live radar, or even a simulator, and he can go to pieces.
Sure, there are a lot of very good ATCOs working non-State but if NATS has chopped someone, especially during initial training, there has to be a very good reason. The instructors working at the college have no hidden agenda; they want to produce good controllers. I would hate to think of someone spending a small fortune at one of the "private" schools and endinbg up in the same situation as when they left NATS.