Hi mate, from what I can tell the situation has changed drastically! Most the pilots I actually know are middle aged ex RAF and a couple are thirty something Oxford grads. Nearly everyone is self funded now, the only sponsored scheme that springs to mind is Etihads. BA have currently froze recruitment and in the general scheme of things the aviation industry is currently experiencing a downturn.
FTO wise, in my opinion the most popular Integrated courses are those provided by Oxford Aviation Academy, Flight Training Europe and Cabair College of Air Training. There's shed loads of information floating around regarding those three.