I'm sure Irv is right in what he says, but an interesting point arises from it.
What is the best value for money way to get a PPL, and be safe to fly in the UK on your own? Is it for example...
(1) Go to the US, do a cheap intensive course, then come back and do another dozen hours learning to fly in UK airspace?
(2) Go and do gliding for a year, then convert a silver-C to a PPL(A)?
(3) Do an NPPL(microlight), or close variation, then convert, perhaps cheaply abroad having already learned how to fly in the British flying environment?
(4) Learn at a steady rate with a local UK school?
I know that (3) worked for me, but I did a fair few hundred hours on microlights before converting so then did my PPL(A) in the absolute minimum so am hardly typical.
Another obvious question is what do the management of flying schools do wrong to get such inattention from it's front of house staff? I'd suggest paying by the flying hour on short term contract with no incentives towards the basic health of the business would be an obvious cuplrit.
G
N.B. Given how often Irv's picture appears in Flyer, a particular demerit for the young FIs for not recognising him and saying hello.