8:15am? And I've not even started yet!

I checked the times for the probationer meeting a day or so beforehand and panicked when I saw that it ran from 8:15am to 4:30pm. I was expecting something nice and relaxed like 10:00-14:00. Ah well.

The venue was a football stadium, surprisingly badly signposted. Thank Winterberg (Google him) for GPS! The meeting and talks themselves didn't kick off till after 9:00, but the day went surprisingly quickly. The breaks and lunch were great for meeting other probationers (and the food was pretty good, as well), while the handful of lectures were well-received.

Two of last year's probationers gave a brief talk towards the end of the day and I think settled a few nerves.

Overall despite the long day, definitely worth the trip in. I've met all of the other probationers from my school for the first time as I was on holiday when the initial meeting was scheduled back in June. In fact, I've already agreed with one of them that we will organise a class trip somewhere at some point during our time at school. We may come to regret that decision...