Off the top of my head, I can name ten students aged 14-20 who were at my UK flying school in the last year. And very enthusiastic and hard working they were too!
I agree, the civvy FTO I'm a member of is very busy, mostly with youngsters and the one's I've met are keen as mustard. They aren't flying new stuff either. As m.berger says, if you are an aviation nut you will fly anything that gets air between your feet and the ground.