I wouldn't say clubs and schools are largely interchangeable, while some places blur the boundary a bit there are plenty of places that are 100% schools with no club aspect, and a lot of places for learning PPL are clubs with schools attached - it's an important distinction, especially if you fancy being part of the community you learnt with after you get your license.
Gertrude, the loss of money through a discount needs to be offset against the fact that the longer the payment is spread out over, the less certain the sum total becomes. I don't know how many people start a PPL and never finish it, but given the costs and focus of training I'd say it's a lot, especially when it gets to the circuit bashing point. Given the economy, the length of training and the high cost I'd say a PPL student is just about one of the most unreliable sources of income you can get.