Captain Moth, there appears to be something wrong with your logic.
Why are they so bloody full (which I can confirm, along with mattince)if they've destroyed their reputation?
It is not true that they got rid of the core skills first. They laid off 18 support, management, and secretarial staff BEFORE cutting the flying instructors. This was quite well commented on on this site about 2 months ago. NO simulator instructors have been laid off. The logic of getting rid of the VFR instructors when you no longer need them is irrefutable. Who knows, it might even result in lower costs to the student - or at least a delay in passing on ever-rising costs to the students.
I see no evidence that Oxford are damaging their reputation. No-one with actual knowledge of the place has suggested that the quality of instruction has been affected by this move. You only have to read posts on this site for a while to realise that everyone who has actually BEEN there (as opposed to passing on second-hand gossip)rates the quality of the instruction very highly. Such complaints as there have been have been about the management. And now that there appears to be a new sharp management that seems to be taking executive action to sharpen things up, people criticise on this site.
[ 19 February 2002: Message edited by: greengage22 ]</p>