Hi Rock, I can't disagree with anything that's been said above purely out of interest I am intrigued as to why you'd rather fly commercially than with the RAF? I did an RAF scholarship myself years ago, planned to join but then lost my medical for ages. I bitterly regret that I'll never get the chance.
I suppose there's some emotional politics around how our armed forces are used these days but for a young'un I would have thought the potential for excitement and variety would be massively more appealing and arguably more demanding than commercial airline work, even if you're trapped in it for 12 years.
Sfunny I dismissed commercial flying for years after being ineligible for the RAF as I thought it'd be too dull and now I can't wait!
Good luck, you've got loads and loads of time to make the right and a few wrong choices.
SS