I think that some of the confusion comes from you thinking that you need a headset.
You only need to buy one if the school do not supply them free for use.
The price you pay needs to be looked at in terms of how much training that you could get for that money. Do you feel happy paying the price of an hour in the air to have your own talking hat, or do you feel happy paying the price of ten hours in the air for a talking hat with bells on it?
When you get halfway through your training, I suspect the quality of your hat will be less relevant than the amount of experience you will wish that you had.