jamesrafferboy,

Have a think a moment; what do you think that we'd be looking for in a team exercise?

@ Gonzo
Someone who'll pay the Costa Coffee bill for the team & the examiners at breaktime ? ;)

@ Jimmy780
I've had my ticket for nearly 35 years & I still learned useful stuff from your last post. After you've made the effort to do that, it'll be a bloomin' shame if you don't get through ! Good luck !

Cartman,

That would be the case, I'm sure ;), but I've always managed to charge my teas and lunch to HR!

re: Nats stage 1
 

HI,

I have my stage 1 on 29th May. I understand what to expect from each test but how long do you get per test?
My knowledge isn't that hot on 'how many seats has a A300-252 series got?' for e.g. Obviously i shall try my hardest to learn all of these but sooo many!
Is anyone going on this date? my start time is 1100.

Thanks!

Nicola,

Have a read at Nokio's post on p22 (post number 436) - it has times and number of questions for each part of Stage 1 (assuming nothing has changed since then). From reading recent stuff here though, it seems you also get a personality questionnaire on the day, but I'm sure someone who's been more recently can confirm that...

Good luck!

RE. Stage 1
 

Don't worry, the questions to do with aircraft types won't be that specific. Think more range / routes / separations :ok:

Hello all.
I have my stage 1 on 22nd May, 11:00.:bored: Anyone else?
Graeme.

Hey everyone :)

Currently I'm at college, but I have been thinking about applying to ATC for 6 months or so. I have spent the day at Manchester with the ATCs and I really loved it. I also got a lot of insight into what the job is like, and I was able to speak to some who had just qualified.

I applied around February/March, but it was too early for me to apply, but at that time, there were tests being held in Manchester. Now, I see it's all in Hampshire. This is on the other side of the country for me, and while I don't mind travelling down there, I was wondeirng if there will be other times later on in the year when tests will be held in Manchester again.

Also, I am only 18 (nearly 19), and have been told that they do tend to prefer people slightly older, as you're more likely to be able to cope with the training etc. Anyone else applied at my age? (I have no idea how old all the rest of you are! :eek:)

My eyesight is pretty bad, but all those I spoke to in real life said it would be no problem, but I don't understand the requirements on paper. Is what they require allowed with glasses? I have perfect vision with glasses, but without I'm pretty blind. It's just shortsightedness though, there isn't anything 'wrong' with my eyes, such as in colour etc :p

Other than that, I just wanted to say thank you! to all those who have provided information, links and answers about ATC on this board. I've browsed quite a lot of this topic, and it's been very useful. (And I don't think I saw my questions asked) :sad:

Edit: Ooh, now I just remembered about Eurocontrol. Do people who apply to Nats sometimes apply to Eurocontrol if they don't get in? It looks pretty similar to me; is it?

Tarka, the eyesight requirements are detailed on the NATS Careers site - they show the limits of the correction, so you should be able to compare with your current glasses prescription.

I think they are now holding all the recruitment in Hampshire, but you could call HR and ask to find out what their plans are.

Stage 3
 

Hi folks

I have my stage 3 on Friday and am starting to get a little nervous I think I am up together with the motivation side of it, if anyone has gone through it recently has any additional tips/advice it would be greatly appreciated. I have read all previous threads and just want to make sure i'm not missing anything.

Cheers!!!!!!!

the waiting game
 

Hi...
I was just wondering whether anyone that has sat their stage 2 on the 1st May has had their results back... the waiting game is starting to kill me.
I am almost sure that I did not make it through....but not knowing is even worse.
Best of luck to anyone about to sit it!!!

Stage one exam
 

Hi

First of all thank you for posting the thread did you pass the stage one exam?

I am going to sit my stage one exam in june can plase give me some advice on what to revise on.

Kind regards

Arfan

Hey Tarka, I believe the selection processes are now being undertaken in Hampshire as part of a cost cutting exercise to save money on hiring rooms at hotels. And don't worry about your age. I was 19 when I put my application in to NATS and got through first time round, so it shouldn't be a problem for you to worry about.

akhan/arfan,

Start by reading everything NATS have sent you and this thread (and the links contained therein) through in it's entirety. That should prepare you as much as possible for Stage 1 I think.

Good luck.

sv8564 not yet... (I was at the very front on the far left).

But it's only been 5 working days today! :uhoh:

Hey, just wondering anybody got there stage two on May 14th if so get in touch.

Hi,
Can someone give me examples of whats asked in the distance, speed, time Q's...(stage 1) Just want to be as prep'd as i can be!
Thanking you!

Stage one on the 18th
 

Not looking forward to stage 1... know most of the plane info speeds and flight levels, but cant make the seating arrangements stay in my brain. I should let my wife deal with the seating like she did for our wedding :)

Anyone else on the 18th?

Did my S3 recently, and we were guinea pigs (again) for the NATS S2 brain frying tests (sorting shapes, numbers, crashing aeroplanes), but this time it was done on laptops.. Dell XPS gaming laptops for the computer geeks out there.
So it could mean that the S2 tests could be done around the UK in the not so distant future?

For S3:
There are no technical Qs, so for those who are doing it soon and crammed all that technical info into their brain (e.g. emiliemarsden_24), you could be wasting your time.

All I can say is.. think of why you want to be an ATCO, think of good examples for being under pressure, making decisions, teamwork, and the outcomes for those, etc etc.. typical HR Qs but so more in depth.

Had to get the interviewers to repeat the Qs again, and explain the Qs to me in layman terms as the wording was complicated. I took forever to answer them and the interviewers had to move me on.
Also, I gave rubbish replies to the Qs, mainly personal experiences as I have little work experience. I say 'rubbish' as I gave an answer but the interviewers repeated the Q again which meant I answered it wrong.
:O

All of you who get to this stage will do better than me..

Will be awaiting the 'unsuccessful' e-mail and trying again next year.


Concentrate more on distance/speed/time calculations, bearings and what the various acronyms, e.g. VOR stand for.

Cheers
 

Thanks Dim Sum.




Zooker.. i guess there's only one way i can go from that level of knowledge! ;)

Dim sum - thanks for the info!

I did ring HR this week and the lovely lady on the phone said that there would be only a HR interview with a few questions regarding your ATC motivation, so it looks like the technical revision isnt needed!

I dont know if its a relief or not though, your HR interview sounded pretty gruelling, but im sure youve done better than you think :ok:

-jonathanB , sv8564, jimmy780 and anyone else who took stage 2 on 1st MAY


I got the dreaded text message yesterday, checked my emails and i passed! nicely nicely

Those tests were hard but i bloody enjoyed every minute of it. was good to chat to people in the same situation as me throughout the day (fag breaks), definitely helped chill me out.

anyway hope all you guys get the same result, they've given me dates for stage 3 in june so might see you then. good luck!

the bloke at the front far right

Yes, I passed... Stage 3 on the 5th June! :ok:

Stage 2, 20th April.
 

Hello PA22 and anyone else who took part with stage 2 on the 20 th April. It went past 15 working days yesterday so i rang HR this morning and now waiting to be contacted. Can you tell me if you passed stage 2 and when where ya told. Also if anyone else passed from the 20 th April. thanks

richoyle - I called them yesterday morning, and received my result later in the afternoon. Luckily I passed! Hope you do 2, good luck :ok:

At least 2 of us from 1st May stage 2 have heard, so you probably should chase up. Have you checked online first though?

Cheers, there must of been a problem. well done thats great news. lets wait and see for my results. which guy were you i was the guy second computer to the door.

Stage 1 results
 

Didn't get through stage 1 - must have been those damn cubes! Oh well, there is always next year!

Has anyone else failed at Stage 1 - I feel like a bit of a muppet :*

Guess I was sitting next to you then lol - I was the one closest to the door......whose computer crashed during the flight strip test :confused:

Hello everybody,

I completed the online personality questionnaire this afternoon. Just wondering how long you guys waited to hear the outcome from NATS..

Cheers - S88:ok:

Bartkobe - did HR email you the results or contact you by phone.

Failed
 

Just got the dreaded news I didn't make it past stage 1....
Well gutted :*

Did mine on April 30th...

40 years old and on the scrap heap :*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Hi guys and gals,

Does anyone happen to know what they do if a candidate for stage 2 has already done the FEAST tests before? I remember we were told one is only allowed to take this test once, like, "ever". (Apparently they felt that you would benefit too much from the previous experience.) Maybe it only applies for the Czech ATS provider, not NATS. Anyway, I suppose they do store the people's results in Eurocontrol so I'm interested if it makes any difference or not.

I did the FEAST test in 2006 and although I enjoyed every single moment of it, if possible, I would prefer simply "sticking with my old result" which was reasonably good (9 on the first part, 8 on the strip display management). But hey, it was fun, I'd have no problem doing it again, so just asking... :)

I also noticed some people recently discussing the 12 months period between attempts. Last August I failed the OPQ. Don't rememeber when I filed the initial application but my attempt of last week went through and now I'm about to go for stage 1 again.
This thing with "cheating" came to mind but I don't think they would let you go for another stage 1 if the time limit was not met, would they?!

Thanks for all your opinions.
I'd love to get in, really.

Pavlina

Hello Guys!

Just a bit of info.

I`ve had my stage 2 on 7th May and got the result 2 days ago, so it was pretty quick. I`ve passed, so stage 3 on 26th june for me. Have fun everybody!

Hey all,
I'm looking at applying for NATS, however, with the test centre in Fareham, and me up here in Scotland, I'm looking at in excess of £200 for the first stage alone. I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a _cheap_ B&B in the general Fareham area, as this could save me loads.

I don't know where in Scotland you are (it's a big place) but it's worth flying with Ryanair to Bournemouth rather than FlyBe to Southampton as it's a lot cheaper. If you are eligible for a Young Person's railcard, that'll help with the fares for the trains to and from airport to Swanwick. Even with an expensive hotel/B&B, it should be well under £200...

Can't help with the cheap B&B - I stayed at the Fareham Premier Inn (£65 a night) when I was down.

I could have a great get rich quick scheme on here. I live 5 minutes walk from the CTC. I have a sofa bed in the conservatory, kick the kids out of their bedrooms. A bed and bowl of cornflakes £50, lovely jubbly.