It really depends on how busy they are at Bournemouth at the time you apply I think. If they have lots of people going through selection at the present time, it can take anything up to a couple of weeks to hear back. On the other hand, I applied at 3pm on a Tuesday and was told I was through to stage 2 the following morning.
As for having no A-Levels, that might be a tougher thing to get around. The Wings cadet criteria require the applicant to have a minimum of 2 A-Levels or equivilent (I think it is generally compared with having suitable qualifications to get you into uni so if you have other qualifications, this does not discount you) so I guess CTC will look at what you have done up until now and assess from there. I think the reason they require A-Levels is that the partner airlines look for these as minimum employment qualifications.
PPL152, I think uni is really a very perosnal decision. There is no getting around the cost (it can quite easily cost £15,000 for a three year course) but as a potential pilot, you are able to display the fact that you are mature enough to manage your own learning to a technical level, you have the academic potential to study more technical subjects and you get exposure to loads of extra-curricular activities that always look good on your CV. Plus you give yourself a 'Plan B' if for example you were to at some point lose your medical. Plus uni is great fun!