I agree it's a pain having to take time off for the brush-up. But the sessions are definitely not a "real ******". I thought that, too, originally - I'm well educated, and have never had any problems with exams. I've got good marks on all my progress tests so far. But, looking back over my notes, I really can't remember a thing from the early parts of the course! I read a quote somewhere on these forums about effect of the brush-up course - I seem to remember that, on average, marks increase by 15% after completing the session.
However, you might like to take a look at London Guildhall University, who do a course which only has a 1-week brush-up before each set of exams. This is allowed, just about. (The requirement is for 10% of the studying to be full-time. The course is 650 hours, so you need at least 65 hours full-time, over the full course.) I looked at LGU for this reason, but in the end went for Bristol.
Good luck!
FFF
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