To the original poster, here's a reply from someone who has not long gone through the training process and age still begins with a '2'
My advice would be to apply for NATS now, and should you not get through go with the degree. When you have said degree, have another go with NATS. Should it not happen again you have the degree to fall back on.
With the costs of university now it's really not worth doing it unless you're going to get some use out if it. The ATCO recruiters aren't that bothered about your qualifications, they're bothered about you being able to demonstrate the qualities they deem are needed to become an ATCO. Being able to get a degree shows certain abilities but not necessarily everything they want.
However, speaking from my personal experiences I don't think I would have got into NATS should I have not gone to university. The experiences I gained there (and I'm talking mostly about the ones gained away from academia - clubs/societies etc then the bit of travelling I did afterwards) I feel were vital to getting accepted. This is of course not the rule, I went through the college with plenty of people straight from school and they have become superb ATCO's (much better than me anyway).
If you do go down the university route, make sure it is a subject you enjoy. If you don't make it past the ATCO assessments there's nothing worse than being stuck with a degree in a subject which you don't enjoy and have a substantial debt outstanding in order to pay for it.
A few home truths to think about as well. The training with NATS will probably take you at least 3 years if not 4. Most trainees get put into the Area discipline which takes longer than Aerodrome and when you take into account any re-courses you may have to do plus holding the company may make you do while courses become available, it soon adds up to a significant period of time. Don't let this put you off though, it's still a cracking job with some cracking people.
Life always works out though, so don't fret too much about it all
