Thanks for your advice Gustosomerset. Ray Jones must be doing an excellent job at his respective school!
Helirotor - The reason I chose Gloucester originally, was simply because it was the closest airfield to my home with a good selection of helicopter schools to choose from, but since posting this thread it has also become apparent that there also seems to be some very good instructors teaching there.
The reason I chose the R22 was because:
1. it looks like a super fun and responsive aircraft to fly
2. I have also read Swan's technical manual and watched youtube videos on the aircraft prior to starting training, so I already feel quite familiar with it.
3. I was also told by an instructor, that if you can learn to get to grips with it you would qualify a technically skilled pilot, able to transition to any other light piston quite comfortably?
4. It's seems like a very good value helicopter to train in, in comparison to other training aircraft.
Ultimately, the quality of the instructor is more important to me than learning in the R22 though, so I would be prepared to ditch it for an excellent instructor.
Thanks again for all your help, really pleased that I decided to join PPRUNE and post in Rotorheads before starting my training. I have come across a goldmine of information.