NATS Hurn College Overview
 

Hello,
Just after I started at Hurn I wrote a little bit about Hurn life. We got our basic results today and thankfully I passed and thought I'd give any new people a general overview of the course
It'll all start with a 3 day inducction to get to know people - enjoy it!! Then you're into 5 weeks of solid theory, 6 hours of lectures a day and it does become a bit of a grind towards the end. This is probably the time to work hardest as if you get behind it'll be difficult to catch up. Then the practical runs start and you're time is split about 50/50 classroom/sim, however this is when you're written exams also start - 6 in total spread over about 3 and a half weeks. Once the written exams end you are purely in the sims or private study.
The course ends with 5 assessed practical runs - 'The Summatives'. These will ultimately determine whether you pass or not(after a spattering of resits
nobody failed a theory exam on our course). We were supposed to have a practise oral board but there wasn't the time/manpower to do them. This will be a common theme - nearly all the instructors do a great job and seem to genuinely care about getting you through but they have so little time to do anything.
Overall, it was either 33 or 34 out of 48 that passed I think.
Onwards and upwards to area foundation:ok:

Great info, thanks. How have you found things financially? and how long is area foundation? How many people went Tower/App?

Financially tough but doable.
Area foundation is 3 months, advanced is another 3.
30 area, 3 aerodrome, 0 approach.
23 people wanted aerodrome from our course but there were only 3 places left because of recourses etc.
:ok:

That's a great help Smelly. Thanks for that.

Just some q's:

What do you mean exactly by "private study"

and

what are the 5 assessed practical runs - 'The Summatives'? Are these radar area exercises or something else?

and

at what stage are you asked to state your preference for which type of control you wanna pursue?

thanks a million,

k.

Private study is precisely that - you're supposed to stay on site and study somewhere - or you can play cards etc.
The summatives are practical exercises using a radar - you control a/c in the airways and outside controlled airspace. You have an airfield in your sector which you'll need to vector inbounds onto the ILS and deal with outbounds.
You get to state your preference towards the end of basic. Rumour has it that your preference is the last thing to be considered, if it is at all, when they make the streaming decision.

need info
 

hi gud info smelly but i think i need to know a little more could u help????
basically im almost 18 and doing my a levels including physics n maths n i really want to attend the NATS college instead of uni....NOW i live in leicester and as the college is bournemouth i need to kno things like ....how is the accomodation (is there some college residence or private). basically i jus need to know what options are open to me as i will be 18 goin on 19 with not much experience of living alone.....PLZ HELP!!!

Onwell,

I joined NATS straight from school, as did many others I know, so university is by no means required. However, you need to really think about your own character. You need to ask yourself if you're mature, if you have a lot of common sense. If you think you might benefit from the 'life experience' of going to university, then perhaps that would stand you in good stead if you apply a few years down the road.
NATS trainees have to sort out their own living arrangements (none is provided), and moving out of home for the first time can be daunting (but not impossible...again, it's what I did).

Just some advice, the Mods on PPRuNe tend to take a dim view of 'mobile phone speak'.:ok:

thanks for that and i do believe im mature enough to give university a miss as i really dont think its for me.
as for the "mobile phone talk" ill try and calm it down:ok:

Uni

Good: Far more forgiving environment, much more time to have fun, freshers week!, guaranteed 3 or 4 years unless you make a real mess of it, well rounded life experience.

Bad: You pay for the priviledge, student loans, people calling you 'man' all the time, no guarantee of employment in your chosen area at the end of it whether you pass or fail

NATS college

Good: They pay you to be a student, specialised area with cast-iron guarantee of employment for life (just about) if you pass. Big bucks on the horizon if you keep passing through

Bad: Could be some harsh life lessons if you're not prepared for it, Failed? bye bye - back to square one, bar stool sessions :}

Pay you?! Its not really pay, more like a meagre allowance that enables you to eak out an existance in a Boscombe doss hole.

That's all relative... and in this case its relation is to paying your own way. So I fail to see why being paid is worse than not being paid.

Exactly: it is all relative. I would say that "being paid to be a student" is misleading. When i was at uni i had loads more spare cash.
And i would never say that being paid was worse than not being paid.

It's not misleading.. it's accurate - you receive a salary to be a student at Hurn. Whether its as much as you'd want is a different matter. You are paid to be there.

If you go to Uni and take a student loan, work in a bar at nights or a Sainsburys check out, you could probably have a more comfortable time of it financially.

I only say its misleading because you put it as a 'Pro' to going to college. I would have said that the low pay would go into the 'con' section. But then everyones situation is different so what the hey, i wasnt looking for an argument about it.

Its a comparison between going to Hurn for 10k a year or going to Uni for nothing... 10k = pro, no pay = con
If the discussion was about whether Hurn students should get 10k or 25k then 10k would be a con.

I know exactly what you're getting at and I'm not saying 10k is good money. Just that its an improvement on no money! :)

yeah i see your point.:ok:

As a 'student' at the college you are employed as a Trainee.

You work a full week and then do more in your spare time to try to keep your job. Unlike uni you do not have the spare time to get a part-time job. You also do not have student status to apply for certain financial relief schemes.

You cannot seriously compare TATC life to student life, it is employment and must be compared as such. A better comparison would be to working in Tesco or McDonalds; both of which pay better, demand less and give you more free time. And job security.

But hey, just think, in three years (if you make it that far) it will all be worth it!:E

How Strange only 3 for airports!
 

I was a bit surprised to read they only need 3 for airports...
They've just put an add in flight global to recruit some airport controllers!

http://www.flightglobal.com/jobs/200...s-and-atc.html

:suspect::suspect:

That earlier post meant only 3 people from the basic course; there are other people already allocated to start the new one alongside them.

How do you mean?

It was 3 from a class of 50/55, no?

I think Quincy means that while only three have gone from Basic to Aerodrome, more trainees, who were holding, have also started the same aerodrome course. So there are more than three on the aerodrome course.

Afirmative

'AFFIRM' you mean?:E

PS: please dont smack me on the back of my head when you see me in the college... its only cos i have to carry the MATS around all day:8

Just wait till you get a part2! :eek:

(I did try to put afirm but it wont let you post less than 10 characters!)

re : College life

what time do you usually finish on a Friday ?

Same time as usual, 16:15, Unless you are on a standby sim position, so you may be able to get away 30-45 mins early.

After an early go already? You'll fit in well :)

ahhh typical pprune

question : "what time is it"
answer : "why did you leave without your watch", followed by an in depth psychological analysis of your behaviour which explains how you'll never be able to conform and achieve !

SACrIGGER, thanks for the answer :)

Change that to "can't take a joke, won't fit in well" ;)

High hopes,

Chill your boots and look for the smileys for an idea of tone.

No need for such bitterness.

Nats college-is a car necessary?
 

Hi,

Im starting in Sept and was wondering is it necessary to have a car when there? I was hoping not to have a car whilst there due to the low income, however if needed I guess I may get sorted! Any replies appreciated!! :)

If you don't have a car, you'll have to scrounge lifts off other trainees, or live close enough so that you can walk/cycle every day in all weathers.

There are no public transport links to speak of.

And anything within walking distance is few and far between. I also personally wouldn't cycle on the A338 raceway! Loads of my course were non-drivers, we all mucked in (part of the team ethic, blah, blah, blah! God i'm brainwashed!)

WW:)

Thanks!
 

:) Thank you!

well, latest is that the September course will be split in two with half the trainees starting in January, to reduce numbers

what's the word on the streets ?

That they are so short of area instructors they were asking around swanwick on thursday if anyone wanted to start today for a 6 month tour!

High-hopes: the latest sounds about right to me. I am one of the ones that got an offer for the September course. Got a call last week asking if I would mind deferring to December as they'd put forward 60 names and the college asked them to reduce the number to 35. I told them I had already handed my notice in to my current employer so I couldn't afford to otherwise I probably wouldn't have minded. Because of that and because I have already passed the medical they said I'd definitely be one of the ones starting in September.

Anyone else get the phone call?

What does anyone else think - should I be pleased they are reducing the numbers as I'll get better instruction or should I be a little worried that they seem to have got it wrong in the first place and perhaps can't cope as MancBoy indicates?

Hey, I am in the same boat Forest, also got the call on Friday. I am quite happy about it to be honest. For months I have been reading on here that the quality of the students leaving Hurn is slipping, so I am pleased that we will be training on a course number similar to that of a few years ago (I think?) Can only make for better controllers.

I just hope it hasn't caused too much disruption for people who were not fortunate enough to still be confirmed on the September course.. Look forward to seeing you down there.

Richy

So that'll be a few £500 bungs saved now that a lot of these people won't be starting in September!!!

Where to stay?
 

Hi

I notice that it has been commented on in previous posts that getting to the college without a car can be difficult. From which areas would it be possible to cycle to and from (or is this completely out of the question!)? Is it possible to walk or is the road to the airport a dual carriageway/motorway (before I learned to drive I walked around 3 miles to get the train to work or uni most days so wouldn't mind if it took an hour or so)? What are the most popular areas with students and where would you recommend living?

Would be very interested to hear anyone's thoughts on this.:)

Thanks