The FOI course is a massive amount of information to take in. Obviously the trainer is incredibly knowledgeable but there was a distinct lack of what I would call "groundwork". I wanted a brief overview of exemptions, sections, etc. but the trainer referred to things e.g. Section 2 or schedule 2 in the assumption that the class knew what it meant. I had no idea. While I have worked in data protection I have limited knowledge of FOI. The fact that we finished early every day was very nice but I was more than happy to stay until 4.30 in order to try and learn more rather than having to do it on my own now in order to get through the BCS exam. I would have liked a lot more exercises and discussions about things in order to get them into my brain. When we did discuss things I found FOI easier to understand. I am somewhat panicked that I now have to put in a large number of hours in order to be prepared for the exam, at this moment in time I am not ready at all.