I have been advised by a retired Cathay pilot that I should go with a school that is recognised by the CAA
What does "recognized by the CAA" mean?
Schools are certified not recognized...semantics I know.
Last September you were pretty much set on doing your FAA CPL, what changed?
I might be completely off the mark here but advise from somebody who completed their own flight training 30+ years ago and that hasn't kept in touch with the flight training world is nothing more than an opinion.
As stated by several posters on your Sept thread; you do not need a JAA PPL for the ATPL ground school enrollment.
It is also cheaper to do your flight training FAA and then convert in the UK.
As far as your above questions are concerned, do a search, there have been recent threads about all three mentioned schools.
Sent me a PM if you need additional info.