g-conaty, to go back to your original post, if you have already decided that this is the school you want to learn at and you are sure you want to learn to fly then there is no reason that your first flight should not be your first lesson i.e. effects of controls 1.
It may be the case that this school recommends that you take a trial lesson but it should not insist. It will not reduce the amount of time to first solo - on the contrary if it is not a productive lesson it will increase it.
If you haven't made the final decision about which school to use, my advice to you is to use the nearest one to your home (unless you really don't like it). That way the inevitable cancellations for weather, aircraft u/s etc. will be less of a hassle then if you'd driven 50 miles just to get there.
The fact that you have studied the Thom books in advance does not mean you will have to do less work than other students, it merely means you will get more from the lessons.
Good luck.