Very useful information here from what it seems, different people from different backgrounds.
As CU PA, I'm not from the UK. Here, the courses I can get to are basically Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy or BSc, which are all massive 5 year courses. After all the struggling (and my country is known for my university and how rigorous the system is), you get to work 60 hours a week (that's the current situation for doctors), or 40 the minimum, to get paid something between £600 - £1000 monthly, that is at the age of 24. Then family loans? House, etc etc....
I did not see it worth it.
I decided to give a try to CTC first, if that doesn't succeed then I'm off to University, then do all the licences after my degree on my own.
If I succeed at CTC, then, knowing that the Wings programme is very well recognised by airlines etc etc, you will be in safe hands, unless you lose your medical - but then, I'm sure you will find some kind of job provided you have good grades at A level, apart from the medical insurance the airline might give you if you're lucky.
I don't know how this may sound but that's how I'm looking at it. I do believe that stage 2, group exercises at stage 3, and stage 4 are really up to the individual, but all I'm worried about is how to convince them about my plans in the interview part of stage 3.
NB: Please do consider that I'm not from the UK (even though I have British descendants) and that the system here is different.