Lots of excellent advice above, so only a little to add.
Look carefully at sponsorship schemes, full sponsorship from someone like BA may be the only worthwhile ones if you can pay another way. They force you to go to a certain school, doing an integrated course. This can be £10 000 dearer than the course I did, and may only give you £20 000. In one case they did not even say how much I would have had to give back during my 5-year lock in, and I would have had to have garaunteed £40 000 to cover some line training if I did not make it to right seat. Needless to say I didn't apply.
Go to university if you want to do the course. Don't just go because it is what everyone does, or because people expect you to, or because the government wants more people to. Too many people (myself includeed) just go because that's the next step.
Finally, whatever you decide, best of luck!
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'Me here at last on the ground, you in mid air'