Speakers – the thrust of your query was a school which provides “cost effective training with a personal element”?
I take it that you are trying to avoid the marketing over-hyped sausage factories where you will get precious little of the personal touch to your training needs?
Choosing a school is a bit like choosing a restaurant - you obviously want to avoid the fast food establishment and also the “celebrity chef” type. It is a bit like finding a charming family run business that prides itself on personal attention, good wholesome meals with middle of the road prices! Most of these are hard to find are usually they are hard to find and you will only hear about them through friends – i.e. word of mouth.
Here are some good hints on selecting a good one.
1. You’ve already asked the question on PPRuNe – good start. Here are a few that I have heard good reports about that fit your requirements: Aeros @ Staverton; Bonus Aviation @ Cranfield; PAT @ Bournemouth. There was Wycombe Air Centre at Booker, but as they have gone over to the dark side it may not be as it was before. However, I stress there may be more.
2. Never go to a school who wants you part with large sums of money up front. A modest deposit and then a pay as you fly arrangement speaks volumes about the integrity of the school.
3. Speak to the students at the school – avoid the “company front man” type of students; they often are on to some false promise to nowhere having been conned by the FTO into believing their BS anyway!
4. Look at their aircraft maintenance and availability – many schools struggle with keeping there fleet in the air and you will be pushed back and back in the queue. Aircraft downtime is a fact of life, but there has to be an acceptable limit.
5. Always budget on at least 25% more than the quoted course price – this covers things like extra accommodation costs, re-test fees and training costs (we would all like to pass 1st time, but when money is tight it adds too much stress to the equation).
6. Visit a number of schools – you will much better at getting used to the BS most put about and when you find the better ones they will be more frank with you what to expect in your training. The biggest marketing & sales ploy is to tell the customer what they want to hear. Once you’ve paid loads of money to them they can play you at the end of a string and you will find it hard to cut it loose. Keep your options open, if they don’t have your money it keeps the school sharp and on their toes! Avoid the TESCO discount schemes buy more pay less. It means that they put the price up to reflect the real price in the form of the discount.
7. It is better to pick a school based at one of the CAA testing centres – eg Bournemouth, Bristol, Cranfield, Oxford (only OATS based there) & Leeds to avoid extra transitioning costs and landing fees.
8. See what is included. Most schools will leave out such niceties such as VAT, landing fees, 170a fees and many more. Make absolutely sure you know what you are letting yourself in for.
9. Finally once you have selected a couple of options ask if you can hang around the school and get a back seat on a couple of flights before you sign up. If they tell you this is not possible it is a good reason to quit!
Good luck in your hunt, choose carefully and wisely, remember that the majority of schools will sell you the dream not the reality.