Hiya WannabePilot I am currently going through the stapleford route to be a pilot and I opted for the USA/UK package and paid in full up front.
They a re a very good school and the usa part was a wonderfull experience. The good thing about stapleford is that they own the airfield and as such all the planes. Therefore there is very little chance of them going bust or disapearing with your money.
I came back from the USA part early december with my PPL and 100+ hours and started my ATPL ground on monday this week at London Guildhall.
I must tell you though that although the club own the airfield and planes there are some hidden costs like Medicals and CAA/FAA fee's but only landing fee's when you leave the home airfield.
However if you added the modules up you would still have these bits and in the costing sheet they have said to allow about £3,000 for these items.
The saving they are giving you is almost the same as you would earn in interest for this amount to sit in your bank so it's up to you.
They are a great bunch of people and I would highly recomend them to anyone.
Please feel free to contact me by e-mail on 07956 842366.