Your last problem is the more serious one. I am not aware of any provider likely to go down in the future due to gross mismanagement, like some recent schools have.
However, if they happened to get hit by a stray nuclear device,
your paperwork could be taken up by another school without much problem - we did that with Dragon and with a few people from Cabair, and even PTC guys from Ireland got sorted with some schools in UK.
The material is not likely to be outdated - there is some revision of the syllabus due later this year, but don't hold your breath. After all, how many ways can you describe an altimeter?
Some airlines are enquiring of the study progress of some students (subject to Data Protection, of course). It is therefore in your interest to make a decision and get started. All this time you've been asking questions, you could have been a fair way into your studies. There are no bad schools in this country - it doesn't really matter which one you use as long as you have the right motivation.
In the class, you have to do at least as much work as a distance learner.