It is all very well taking the exams straight after the brush-up course but there are very good reasons that I would recommend one week of self study after.
Many students find that they have not really done enough work, however much instructors stress the difficulty of the course, or that they don't understand all the material in one or more subject. This may be discovered on the first week of the brush up which allows two options: if a serious lack then the exams can be delayed by a month (any later will be too late for the CAA). If less serious then the material can be revised over the week after the brush-up.
Finally there is a problem if a student reaches the end-of-course progress tests and this highlights areas that he still does not understand. A week in which to work o those areas has been found to be very valuable.
I quite agree that since these are all contingencies, for a good student the issue is unimportant. However I have worked a lot giving private tuition to students who have already failed exams. Therefore I have more experience with the students who have either underestimated the workload or experienced difficulty understanding the material (as opposed to those like FFF who sail through
). Since both issues are particular problems for distance learning, with no direct contact in class until the brush up, I would still recommend most students consider taking a week for self-study before the exams.