Hey rich..
Hey Rich..
If there's a university close by to you that does an Aeronautical Engineering degree why dont you go for that? I studied it for 4 years at Glasgow uni and admittedly the first year is boring just alot of maths and mechanics etc but once you start to get into 2nd/3rd/4th year it's actually very interesting doing subjects like High Speed Aerodynamics and Aircraft Design projects. I also did my PPL during this time and found the exams alot easier as by the time I came to sit them I had already studied alot of the stuff before like aircraft performance and covered alot of things in the aerodynamics courses too. Also just started doing my atpls via distance learning and finding it not too bad as started straight after uni so still in study mode and trying to keep disciplined with the study times!
Also as Preduk mentioned, why not go to a university with an air squadron, even if you decide to go for a subject you're not too interested in, flying with the UAS and all their other activities should at least keep you in the air and also gaining other skills etc.
Also steve901, I would definitely recommend doing the aerospace engineering course in terms of employment. I just graduated in July with Beng honours and now have a job with BAE systems as an engineer, but in their surface fleet solutions department, so basically working on warships! Some folk in my class have joined BAE but at their military air solutions or regional aircraft bases, and plenty others have gone on to get jobs as engineers in the renewable energy sector and also oil and gas. So even though it is an aircraft based degree, you still come out highly employable in a wide range of engineering sectors. So i would definitely say to go for it and get a good back up career under your belt with some life experience too!