Thank you so much for the replies so far!Muleski, I'm glad there is someone in a similar situation to me - do you think you will ever go back down the examination route? A part of me (probably that niggling competitive part again) really hates having to answer the inevitable question "What grade are you?" with the honest answer... and I'd really love to at least achieve one of the middle grades that I think I should be capable of. But I don't know if I'd ever do it if I didn't do it straight away...
What I mean, is that I believe it is possible to be able to learn & play very complex pieces without ever doing an exam.