That's the way I've understood it too, that for the London airports the bid is only for the aerodrome service and not approach.
To get back on the original topic, I can't help but think when I see this thread that if you can get something for free, why not take it? If you one day really want to move back then I'm sure you will be able too, but if ATC is what you want to do isn't it worth the sacrifice of moving? Especially when you not only get free training but also a salary during training (albeit a very modest one). That alone is more than 99% of people will ever get in their lifes, and even if you do self-fund your training you will have to move for the actual training (unless there's an ATC college where you live) and then still have no more gaurantee of being able to move back.
Last edited by Crazy Voyager; 12th Jun 2013 at 17:54.