Apprenticeship is usually the way to go, but even a young'un like me has difficulty finding one. I'm at college at the moment, it's good, but an apprenticeship would be even better. Apart from the fact that you get paid to learn, you almost always have an employer waiting with open arms after you finish the apprenticeship.
I've heard good stuff about Newcastle Aviation College.
At the end of the day, any route into aircraft engineering is a good one!