The ATPL theory is taught in this manner at OAA, so is a proven method. There is nothing particularly 'applicable' about the ATPL studies that can be used during the early PPL/CPL/IR training anyway, in fact I think it is better to understand the theory before getting into the aeroplane.
I'm unsure as to why they have done this, the flying pace was painfully slow as it was and doing some ATPL theory at least gave you something to do in the fog!
The attention paid to the ATPL studies was perhaps not what it should have been, merely relying on the utterly fantastic fortnight at Bristol. Perhaps the CAA have noticed this and want more of a focus on actually covering the material.
On a side note - with every major airline in Europe talking about redundancies and base closures, people in the CP40s still looking for full time employment (CP80 did you say?), and interest rates set to soar. Are you really sure that your business plan is robust enough to even consider starting to train in this environment?!