In our quest to create a holistic ATC Training Syllabus and overhaul documentation associated with ATC Training, I am pleased to announce the next training syllabi as now been released - the S3 Syllabus.

The new S3 Syllabus has been formatted similarly to the recent S2 Syllabus and is detailed below:

Block 1 - Fundamental Approach/Radar Competencies:

Block 1 aims to take students from zero experience to a solid understanding of S3 fundamental competencies. This includes Euroscope usage, vectoring/descents, IVV, speed control and more - key skills that are the back-bone of APC controlling. Block 1 will be conducted on the sweatbox server only, so that the traffic situation can moulded to solely cover Block 1 competencies. CTS Identifiers will not change and mentoring sessions will be shown as [ICAO]_SBAT, although the progress sheets have been updated to reflect the syllabus - Mentors shall only grade areas under Block 1.

Once a student has demonstrated proficiency in all areas of Block 1, mentors will forward them for End of Block Exam 1 (CTS: APP_B1). Instructors will conduct this progress check; each End of Block exam has its own progress sheet and students must be marked as 'good' in all areas before moving to Block 2. We expect that Block 1 will take the longest to complete although subsequent blocks will be considerably shorter.

Block 2 - Advanced Approach/Radar Competencies:

Block 2 aims to cover all the remaining, and historically more challenging, S3 competencies including handling VFR traffic, non-standard approaches and holding amongst others. Block 2 can be conducted on the live network or sweatbox, at mentor discretion - CTS identifiers are again unchanged shown as the usual [ICAO]_APP/[ICAO]_SBAT. The progress sheet is the same as above - Mentors shall grade areas under both Block 1 and Block 2 as required.

Once a student has demonstrated proficiency in all areas of Block 2, mentors will forward them for End of Block Exam 2 (CTS: APP_B2). Instructors will conduct this progress check; students must be marked as 'good' or 'test standard' in all areas before moving to Block 3. On passing APP_B2, a Solo Approach Validation (SAV) will be given.

Block 3 - Training Consolidation and Exam Preparation:

Block 3 is the final and shortest part of training where students on an SAV have their final mentoring sessions to ensure exam readiness. Block 3 should be conducted preferably on the live network, or the sweatbox server if required. Again, CTS identifiers are unchanged and the progress sheet is the same as the previous 2 blocks - Mentors shall grade areas under both Block 1 and Block 2 as required.

Once a student has demonstrated proficiency in all competencies, mentors will forward them for End of Block Exam 3 (CTS: APP_B3) which is considered a mock exam. Instructors will conduct this progress check; students must be marked as 'test standard' in all areas before being submitted for practical exam. On passing APP_B3, the student's SAV will be extended and they will be forwarded for the formal practical examination.

Syllabus Objectives:

The S3 Syllabus places a lot of onus on new students to arrive at training with a solid theoretical knowledge base, having studied the S3 Moodle course. It is hoped that this, combined with continual progress checks, will shorten training times and improve exam pass rates. 

Implementation:

The Syllabus will now be trialled with 4 current APP students, who have just started their training with us and will thus be placed into Block 1. Mentors and students have been informed of this already in the #app-mentors Discord channel.

All other students will continue training under the old system, however they will all complete End of Block Exam 3 (APP_B3) before being forwarded for their practical exam.

Mentors can expect a meeting with @Samuel Lefevre and myself imminently to answer any questions and take suggestions on improvements to the syllabus. Thank you to those of you that have already responded to the thread in the mentors channel with suggested updates, we will be collating these and discussing their future implementation in the meeting. Please can I ask all mentors to familiarise themselves with the new syllabus and pose any questions/suggestions in the thread.