Work experience
Hi,
Like some of the other posters I cant recommend any schools near Manchester, but what I wanted to mention was that at my club we have had a number of students do the work experience over the last couple of years. So from a health and safety point of view shouldnt be a problem but I suppose it depends on the airfield.
If you go to a school at an International Airport then it may be more of an issue (security etc) but at a small local airfield it shouldnt be a problem.
I think it is definitely worth doing (I wish I had thought of it all those years ago!), but if you are going to benefit from it you will have to make sure you show willing, listen to what people tell you and be prepared to help out with whatever is needed. Airfields are not always the most glamorous places. However if you show willing and show you have some ability for learning you will probably find they allow you to re-fuel the aircraft etc and may even reward you with a free or discounted flight (dont expect it though).
On the PPL side of things, id say worry about your GCSEs first but start revising the 7 subjects as soon as possible and that should help you progress quicker.
If I were you I would budget for £7000, it probably wont be as much as this but the costs soon add up. Also, if you budget for this amount you can use any leftover money for hour building (if you plan to go commercial) or just having fun flying around (basically what im saying is you still need money to keep your license valid after you pass)
As far as paying up front, never pay for the whole course up front. However some schools will offer a discount if you pay for, say, 10 hours at a time.
This is what I did and it reduces the risk whilst still making it a bit cheaper. However before you do this it is worth assessing the club and doing a bit of research to see what there finances are like.