It's expensive because it costs a great deal to provide the people and equipment to train you! The CAA's fees are arguably excessive, but they are a tiny percentage of the overall costs. Running aircraft and airfields and the people required to operate them is a bloody expensive business. As Clowns intimates, the margins are not fat, even for the integrated schools - which is why we always advise you all to protect yourselves against your school going bust by never paying up front.
Scroggs