Hi Dangerman12,
Well done matey. Fingers crossed I'll see you there. They asked me for some extra info regarding some medical history so waiting to hear back now.
CerealKiller, I can't really advise which route is fastest but if you read back through this forum a few pages you will see that one fellow applied directly and got called in a very short space of time (couple of weeks I think). I would hang tough if you've already applied unless you want to part with the bones of 7K for a 'possibility' with CTC. Having said that they have obviously worked their magic with the waiting time as those in the holdpool got called for interview within a couple of weeks of applying through them. Good luck with it anyway.