i went down today thinking i was going to be doing stalls only to find out i'd be going over climbing and descending again which didn't go well the first time.
There by you own admission it didn't go well the first time. Climbing and descending are probably the simplest exercises on the course and you expect to move on when they clearly were not up to standard. It sounds as though the instructor was entirely right; there is no point moving on to a new skill if the previous skill has not been mastered.
The European way of teaching is one of building blocks. The later blocks depend on the earlier blocks being in place. In each lesson you learn new skills and practice skills learned earlier.
I am intrigued how everyone jumps in to blame the school and instructor(s), which I am pleased to see you don't. Learning to fly is quite demanding when done correctly and it will take a few lessons before it all starts to come together. Its better that you repeat lessons rather than move on to the point where you spend ages in the circuit because you still can't fly the aeroplane. Different people progress at different rates. Imagine yourself going through these exercises trussed up like a turkey with harnesses, parachutes, bone domes and oxygen masks, like thre military student then think how comfortable you are in your shirt sleeves and a lightweight headset.
Prepare for each lesson i.e. read the book about the next exercise and understand what you did on the previous exercise. If you don't understand anything, ask to do it again and expect to repeat exercises until you have mastered them.