I thought I would add my opinion here as someone that has only just finished their PPL at Stapleford. I have no intentions, and never had, of going any further than PPL level as this was just going to be a hobby. Having said that, I may add my night rating and IMC just for the extra experience.
My experience was generaly very good overall but had I have been asked when I first started it would have been an extremely bad review.
My wife got me into it by buying me a trial lesson for our anniversary. I had always wanted to do my PPL but never got around to it. I turned up on my trial lesson and it was a glorious day. I got there about an hour early but the instructor was already ready so we went up about half an hour early. It was a great trial lesson and I actually got a little bit longer than my half an hour.
I was hooked straight away and immediately after landing went back to reception with the instructor to inquire about doing the full PPL. After going through the costs etc I decided that I would pay for the full 45 hours up-front to which I did and booked my first lesson for the following week.
Unfortunately, the instructor who did my trial lesson was not available so they assigned me a different instructor and gave me his details there and then. The instructor who did my trial lesson then showed me around the place and took me into the shop and showed me what I would need to purchase. He was really helpful and told me what I would need immediately and what I could put off buying to a later date. I ended up buying a logbook, books 1 and 2 of the pilots manuals series, a fuel tester and fuel guage (as I was doing it in a C152) and a checklist.
The following weekend came which was atrocious weather so I rang up an hour before my lesson to which I was told that the lesson would have to be cancelled due to weather. Obviously not their fault. So then I tried to book another lesson. This is where my problem started as there were not any available slots for about 3 weeks. I expressed my concern that I had paid in advance and I really wanted to crack on and hopefully get it all completed this year. I had to ring back several times to check for cancellations but I really wasn't happy as I felt like they had just over subscribed students and if I was going to have to wait this long between lessons then it was not going to be very productive.
When I rung back for a third time it was a different lady on the phone who was extremely helpful. She shifted some things around and got me a slot with the same instructor I was originaly booked with for the following Saturday (2 days time). I turned up and everything went as planned and it was a great first lesson. My wife came along with me and we had a great meal in their very friendly club house.
Anyway, I had the same problems again when I tried to book my next lesson. Again, there were no slots available. They said that they could get me a slot but it would be with a different instructor which would now mean I would be flying alternatively with 2 instructors (one on Saturdays and the other on Sundays). They booked me in for about 4 weekends on the trot. The new instructor I just could not get along with. I found him very direct and also very sarcastic in his comments and to sum him up 'a know it all'. I take very well to constructive crticism but I do not take well to out and out degrading. He really did not make me want to fly and I always made a lot of mistakes with him as I just felt nervous touching or doing anything through fear of making a mistake. Incidently, I am not going to name either of these instructors.
I used to look forward when I was flying on a Saturday as the instructor made me feel at ease and was always constructive with his comments and corrected any mistakes I made in a good way. He was under the opinion that you did not learn anything if you didn't make mistakes. On Sundays I flew with the other instructor and it really did make me consider giving it up. If I did one thing wrong then all I would hear was a sarcastic comment over the headphones that always made me feel like I was not cut out for this and maybe I should just give it up now. Also, the 2 instructors had 2 completely different styles and opinions. The first instructor would show me how to do something and then the 2nd one would tell me a completely different way and say the first method was wrong. I had to adjust my flying style depending on whether I was flying with instructor 1 or instructor 2.
Then one day I just lost in on the Sunday while doing circuits with the 2nd instructor and just told him that he had control and could he land the plane so I could get out. I told him that I really did not like the way he speaks to me and if I am so bad that he is constantly criticising me then why doesn't he just tell me that I am not cut out for it and stop taking my money every week.
He landed the plane and I stormed off home with my wife and sat down to decide whether I should actually ask for my money back and just give up as I was obviously not cut out to be a pilot.
A day later I got a call on my mobile from instructor number 2 who asked me if I would come down to the airfield. I agreed and once there he took me into a corner of the clubhouse and apologised to me. He told me that the reason he was being tough on me was that I was actually doing very well and he was just piling on more and more things to try and get me through this in the best possible times. He explained that this was just his way and that he was never intending to be degrading. He said that because I was picking up things very quickly he wanted to push me harder.
To cut a long story short, after that incident I got booked in for a double slot on the Saturday and a single slot on the Sunday and this went on for the rest of the course (3 hours per week). The 2nd instructor turned into a very good friend (as did the first) and I still speak and joke with him now. But it did take me a while to get used to his methods.
All-in-all, I ended up being very impressed with the teaching and actually completed my PPL in only 3 hours over minimum times and 2 and a bit hours of that was my skills test. I didn't go solo until 21 hours but that was mainly due to the argument I had and the fact that lessons were regularly cancelled due to weather.
Regarding the staff in reception, from what I can gather there are only really 2 ladies that deal with the training side of things that are never there together. The rest of the people sitting in reception are the back office staff that do all the paperwork around it and I don't think they are really there to deal with the public. The only reason you see them is because it is an open planned office. Usually if the lady was busy I had to wait but occassionly they would offer. There were numerous times I heard the instructors discussing other student's problems which I just turned a death ear to and I do feel that some things could have been discussed a little more discreetly.
From my own point of view, on the whole I did enjoy my training down Stapleford and would go back and do some more training. I found it an ideal place to learn as I got experience of both solid and grass runways, at times a very busy circuit that you were basically responsible for your own safety as there is only an A/G station there so it made you very good at looking out for traffic. Also, most times we would immediately change frequency to Southend so I also got the experience of talking to a full ATC as well. There were almost no waiting times for taking off wo when you paid for a hour, almost all of that was in the air rather than holding. Also, the landing fees are free for students so when doing circuit training you do not have to worry about how much all the touch-and-goes are costing and it means you can have as many goes as time permits.
The only additional cost is the fuel surcharge they add on which can come to quite a bit (mine was nearly £300 for the entire time). When you pay for 45 hours in advance, you only really get 43 hours as the rest is taken in fuel surcharges. I would have preferred to have paid for everything so I know that it was paid for but the costs were on par with what everyone else was charging (substantially cheaper than some) so I guess it all evens out.
Lastly, for the PPL you can get everything doen at the airfield including your medical as they have an AME on-site twice a week and all your exams and tests can be taken and marked there as they have full time examiners. The exams are a reasonable £20 per exam with the RT oral exam being £50.