IO540,
I have to disagree with you there. The economics may be similar as you say, but there is a huge difference between a school and a club. Take Leicester. Definitely a club. Pick any rainy, drizzly Saturday afternoon where not a VFR airplane in the country has moved and you'll find the Leicester clubhouse packed. It's as much a club as a golf club or any other kind. In some respects, flying is just the excuse for the club to exist! And there's usually a large dose of time spent in the club bar before and after every flight.
Also, there's a healthy stable of owner operated airplanes mixed in with the club fleet and the instructors are an essential part of the fabric of the club, even if most members only fly with them for their BFR. There's curry night on Thursdays and events all year long. White Waltham, I understand, is similar.
At these clubs business is taking place but it feels more like flying is taking place, whereas a school is where business takes place and it feels like it. Leicester has a soul and character, a school doesn't.
I also agree with QNH in that joining a cheap group is what saved me, and finding the kind of flying I wanted. If PA28s at £100 an hour were all that were available to me, I wouldn't bother. But if a Taylorcraft for strip flying at £40 an hour is there, you can't keep me on the ground!
Pitts2112