I am interested in this part of the post:-
I am still terrified of spinning the aeroplane as I genuinely thought of giving up after ex11...I didn't enjoy that one!
I would like to know what aircraft you did your spinning in and how you did it - many people who have this reaction I find have done spinning in aircraft that are not really suitable such as C152 or Pa28 or an instructor who uses the technique that results from learning on these aircraft, by this I mean that they pull hard into the entry then have a rushed patter before the aircraft recovers by itself - do spinning on a proper spinning aircraft with a good instructor and it is a far more relaxed affair and few people come away terrified.