from LASORS section C
"An applicant for a JAR-FCL PPL(A) shall be at least
17 years of age but some of the required
qualifications for the grant of the licence may be
gained earlier. Applicants should ensure that any
qualifications gained earlier will still be valid at the
time they plan to apply for the grant of the licence.
The validity periods of training, examinations and
flight tests are covered in this section.
Student pilots may act as Pilot-in-Command from
their 16th birthday provided they act only in
accordance with instructions given by a flying
instructor, hold a valid JAR-FCL Medical Certificate
and, generally, fly only in UK territorial airspace.
There is no minimum age for dual instruction, but
any received before the age of 14 is not countable
towards the experience requirements specified in
this document."