Just got back from a busy week in Antwerp, so please excuse the late response.
Thank you all for the detailed responses, there is some serious wisdom being shared here and I really enjoyed reading them. I'm 25 by the way!
To me, it appears there are arguments for both sides of the coin, training at EMA or not. However training at Nottingham appears to have the consensus for my current needs, and perhaps getting the IR at East Midlands Airport later on, blending the best of both worlds.
I did visit Sherwood Flying School at Nottingham and spent close to 45 minutes talking to the CFI, who was a friendly and knowledgeable chap. I did get a good vibe from the school. I have visited others where I didn't get as good impression.
Leicester is a little bit too far from my neck of the woods, it would be around a 60 mile round trip. However, I will check out Gamston & Tatenhill also.
July is when I aim to begin, so thank you all for your best wishes and I hope the thread comes in useful to others in the future.