I have a further question. Would training for a PPL now and then doing a CPL after university lower the cost at all? rather than training from scratch for a CPL after uni?
You must do your PPL prior to your CPL unless you're looking to enrol on an integrated course.
Being already on 18k and having not left uni I feel that companies will want to be able to out do your previous salary. I believe 25k is a fair assumption.
I don't think you'll find many companies offering you £25k pa based on a Bachelors degree and 12 months work experience with programming.