Well I am currently in the lower sixth so im a year behind you. I was also thinking of not going to university because, like you i want a fATPL and to become an airline pilot. I didnt want the extra debt and the time I could be flying or working to get my atpl would be spent at uni. But my mind has been changed by another topic on the forum. Im definatly going to go uni now, hopefully with jobs and stuff i can keep the debt as low as possible. I dont think im ready to go to work at 18, and uni provides life experence. So at the end of uni I will go and try to be sponsored, your gonna be better off than guys stright from school at 18 or 19, or at least i reckon you will be. Plus if you dont get sponsored then you will most problely make more money with your degree thus allowing you to pay for your atpl, and a bank is more likely to give you the loan for this reason. So if you cant find a job in avaition, you can still pay the loan back as hopefully you will be earning a resonable salary. Anyway pm me if you wanna talk some more.