I also recall the instructors telling us that the Flight had never had an actual accident and that the nearest they had come to one was a near bale out. However the story I remember was that there was an engine failure. After several unsuccessful attempts to restart, the instructor told the student to bale out. They opened the canopy and the student unstrapped and unplugged and was just starting to climb out when the instructor managed to restart the engine. Cue frantic attempts by the instructor to stop the student by tapping (probably hitting him hard) on the shoulder to tell him to get back in. A shaken student strapped himself back in and they returned to Roborough
I think it's more likely the spin story that's correct, since one wouldn't bail out of a Chippy (or any other light aircraft) simply because of engine failure unless perhaps over very inhospitable terrain (or water!). The risks of being injured or even killed in such a bail-out would be far greater than the risks involved in a forced landing in an aeroplane like the Chippy.