High Flyer,
You are 100% percent right that a degree won't do any harm and offer a fail safe if your aviation career does not take off, however, with the cost of university courses and then undertaking commercial pilot studies I would look at how your going to finance both of these.
In regards to CTC the cost of their course is circa £90,000 and unless you have the money in the bank it is inevitable that you will have to get a loan. Now, no banks that I know offer unsecured loans for any more that £20,000, which is only a fraction of the cost that is needed. The only way banks are going to lend you this sort of money is offering an asset as security (a house for instance). Unlike you I never contemplated going to uni because I had my heart set on flying and I personally thought it would be a waste of time (unless you want to be a profession i.e accountant, lawyer)
Based on the above I would really think about what's more important. Competition for pilots is fierce at the moment and unlikely going to change in the foreseeable future. Your still young at the moment so there's no rush to get into training. My advice would be go to uni, settle into a job for a few years and save as hard as you can and then start. Alternatively, you could go to uni, after that get a job and do the modular route.