I have done my CPL IF ME at Progress 12 years ago. The big advantage that we had over the 43rd students was the fact that we had 5 minutes flying time to the nearest VOR & ILS.
Back then, the CPL training was very bush oriented, since most fresh CPLs would get their first job flying charters. We landed on a grass rwy with only one row of lanterns on the left side.
The pass rate, both for the theory exams and the practical flight test at Progress used to be a lot higher than that of 43rd.