My take on the recent e-mail about S1 changes is that they're probably responding to the number of candidates who withdraw on the day of the test, especially with regard to the ATC paper.
I took stage 1 in the last few weeks and I think there were 4 (out of about 40 candidates) withdrawals on the morning because they asked if everyone was 'familiar with the NATS website' and the ATC content for the paper.
If this is broadly in line with what's happening at other S1 test sessions then that's roughly 10% drop out on the day so for oversubscribed test dates they end up with empty seats.
Either way, I'm waiting on S1 results atm and was out for a few Paddy's Day drinks yesterday and thought that's what the email was! The wait continues
