Academic requirements for ATPL
Hi littleflyer,
First of all, I suggest you get access to the CAA publication called 'LASORS'. This costs about £13 and a new issue comes out every year. This will tell you all of the licence requirements so that you can study them at leasure. You can also download it free from the CAA website.
Early every November, there is a flying careers exhibition (organised I think by Flyer magazine) at the Renaissance Hotel at Heathrow. I strongly advise you to go to this exhibition as there you can speak to representatives of many of the flying schools, including some from overseas, all in one place. Prepare your questions to them well in advance and go there for a fact-finding visit. You'll come back with a carrier bag full of information.
To the best of my recollection, there is no formal academic requirement for access to the ATPL course, but that is only as far as the CAA is concerned. However, individual flying schools may well impose academic requirements of their own, which will vary from one school to another. You will have to ask each school in turn to discover what these are.
However, be in no doubt about the demands of ATPL groundschool. Anybody without a good deal of academic ability is most unlikely to succeed. You may not need to be in possession of university admission qualifications, but you definitely do need to have the sort of ability that would enable you to obtain such qualifications if you wanted them.
Heed well the words of the wicked witch!
BroomstickPilot.