I was under the impression that it didn't matter if you had a licence or not.
but IMHO you cannot do the night solo full stops as you cannot exercise the privileges of your license (P1), as you do not yet have it to "physically carry" on you
But your licence does not allow you to fly at night as it does not already have a night rating issued, and printed on the licence itself. Therefore what you are stating is irrelevant. You are not exercising the privileges of your licence, as your licence does not allow you to fly at night.
P1 in the logbook. You are required to have a certain number of "Supervised Solo" hours for the issue of your PPL, I have logged all these hours as P1. The fact that it is your instructor who is "signing you out" is completely irrelevant. You are the only person in the plane, hence the PIC (as there is no-one else in the plane), hence you log P1 hours. Not sure how anyone can see any confusion on this.
I think 5 weeks is a very long time. By the time you get the licence through you may not be current anymore!! Continual learning in my mind should always be praised.
I know for a fact that 2 years ago you were able to complete the night rating at the same time as the PPL. If that has changed since - I do not know, but I haven't read any CAA document stating this change.
The night rating is incredible, its a magical experience, and you should definitely go for it and do it. However, because it is somewhat difficult to see clouds at night - getting yourself in IMC is just that much easier. I would strongly recommend doing some basic instrument work with an instructor, as this will help you achieve your night rating in the minimum hours. As the UK has temperamental weather and if finding a suitable time (both airfield, instructor and your availability) to complete your night rating is required, all the more important to maximise night hours as much as possible.
I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to you all in advance, as I will probably be posting a few questions over the coming weeks and months regarding various different topics of the PPL.
Well - that's why the forum exists! Welcome to the community!