Tigereye, I'm puzzled how you can conclude I was short changing good instructors. I was trying to point out that the CAA sets the standard to be met for all the tests, and the manner in which the student is taught to meet it.
The more exposure I have had to aviation training, the stronger my belief that whether you pass or fail a test or exam is largely down to you and you alone has become.
Lots of us tended to want to buy into a brand (usually OATS/BAE Systems or sometimes Cabair) when we starting out in the belief we'd get something better, but it's my gut feeling that far fewer would do so by the time they've passed their IR.