Kiwi,
thank you for your comments.
The new school and instructor were giving me exactly the right information for their circuit and airfield.
I now appreciate that different conditions require deviation from the standard procedures I have been used to so far.
I am post solo and continuing my PPL training with my original school, my experience of the grass short field has been useful. I will leave it to my original instructor to introduce me to this, he may however wonder how quickly I adapt!
Thank you all for your comments and taking the time to reply to this thread.