I'm currently on the AST PATH course on the ground school phase. Happy with it so far. The ground school is in two modules now using Pro pilot/pad pilot notes on the I-pad in place of the Bristol paper notes. I-pad and paper notes each have their advantage so hard to say which is best but you do get to keep the I-pad at the end of the course which is a boost! This year they split each module into half again to ease the exam week workload and raising the chances of first time pass's. This is an improvement in my view as I was deciding for London Met with the 3 modules but glad i stuck with AST now.
The setup is brilliant with a good airfield, good aircraft, variety of airspace, on site accommodation and with engineering training on site too it gives a great advantage to see A/C systems and components in the flesh adding to your overall knowledge. From word of mouth before i joined, and now on the course, is the flying training side of things provided by ACS is of good quality in a relaxed yet professional manner. Value for money of the overall PATH course is good but the cost of ground school went up this year with the introduction of the i-pads and I personally feel it a little high. Flying training and hour building on the other hand is very reasonable. Unfortunately AST dropped the MCC part of initial course which is now left up to the student to source after completion of PATH the course. Again the advantages/disadvantages of this are debatable.
Another bonus, as already mentioned, is AST is part of the Perth college giving you proper student status and also the security of the school and your funds. Sadly this relationship does not drop the VAT... I think the biggest decider for me was the attitude of the whole school towards the students best interests and not just a commercial sausage factory operation. Lets hope it plays out that way!