Tosh, I think you will find that a) you don't need to have done an Integrated Course, and b) you don't have to have been "top of the class". You DO need a frozen ATPL, IR, etc. They select the person. The applicants vary hugely in experience, from people straight out of Integrated Courses to those who did the old self improver route and have a thousand + hours.
Check out the CTC website for all the latest info.
As for CTC and what it means, I'm sure someone told me it was because it was Chris Clarke's initials. I can't remember what the T is for though, again, sure I was told a while back.