This article lists the checks to make before you pay a deposit to a UK flight school or sign a training contract. It covers the contract, the refund policy, how the school takes payment, the school's finances, training quality and your own back-up plan. Some courses cost more than £100,000 (see UK pilot licence costs ). If a school stops trading, you can lose money that you paid in advance. These checks reduce that risk. They do not remove it. We do not rate or recommend any school. Published 13 December 2025. Programme and funding details in this article are from that date. Check them with the organisation named. Why check before you pay A flight school is a business, and a business can close. If a school closes, trainees can lose money they paid in advance. They must then find another school to finish the course. Before you sign, ask the school for written answers to the questions in this article. Then check that the contract says the same thing. What this article covers The article follows the order in which most people check a school. It covers these areas: Contract terms and refunds: What does the school charge in addition to the course fee? What happens if you leave the course, or if the school's performance is poor? Staged payments and advance payments: Why paying in instalments limits the money you can lose. Financial stability: Which signs show that a school is in financial difficulty? Back-up plans: What happens if the school closes or does not deliver the course? A reputable school should give clear, written answers to all of these questions. Keep a copy of every answer. Questions to ask before you sign Ask each question in the table. A reputable school should answer each one in writing. Question Category Essential Questions to Ask Why It Matters Contracts & Costs "Can I see a fully itemised cost breakdown? What is your pro-rata refund policy in writing?" Protects you from hidden fees and ensures you can get your money back for unused training. Payment Structure "Do you offer a staged payment plan? Can I pay per training module?" Limits the amount you can lose if the school closes. Financial Health "Can you discuss the school's financial stability and continuity of funding for training?" A clear answer helps you judge the school's finances. A vague answer is a warning sign. Training Guarantees "What happens if training is significantly delayed due to aircraft or instructor availability?" The contract should say what the school does when it causes a delay. Contingency Plans "What is the documented procedure if the school ceases trading or my performance is poor?" Shows how you can move to another school or leave the course. The sections below explain each question. Read the training contract The training contract is a legal agreement. It states what you pay, what the school provides and what happens if either side stops. Read all of it before you sign. Read every clause. Ask the school to explain any term you do not understand. If you are unsure, ask a solicitor to review the contract. Find the total cost The advertised price is often not the total that you pay. Ask the school for an itemised cost for the whole course, in writing. If the school gives only an estimate, ask what the estimate excludes. The contract should list these costs: Flight hours: Does the quote cover the minimum number of hours or an average number? What is the hourly rate for extra hours? Ground school: Does the price include materials, software and instructor time? Exam and test fees: This includes theory exams, skills tests and examiner fees. Does the price include resits? Equipment: The contract should list headsets, uniforms, charts and flight computers. Other charges: Ask about landing fees, fuel surcharges and insurance. For example, a trainee budgets for a course that costs £90,000 . Exam resits, extra flight hours and equipment add £20,000 . The final bill is £110,000 . This is an example, not a record of a real case. An itemised breakdown helps you plan for these items. Check the refund policy You might need to pause or stop your course. Check what the contract says about refunds before you pay. Some contracts allow no refund after a short cooling-off period. Ask the school why. If a school asks for a large payment in advance and allows no refund, consider choosing another school. Look for a pro-rata refund policy. Under this policy, the school refunds the training that you have not yet received if you leave the course. Check the contract for administrative fees or penalties for early termination. They can reduce your refund. Check for unfair terms Some terms favour the school. They are often in the legal text of the contract. Ask these questions about the contract: Delays: If the school cannot provide an aircraft or an instructor, does it compensate you? How long can a delay last before you can leave without a penalty? Quality: What can you do if you are unhappy with the instruction? Does the contract describe how disputes are resolved? Changes: Can the school change the cost, the syllabus or the training location during the course? Ask for changes in writing You can ask for changes before you sign. If a term is vague or seems unfair, ask the school to clarify or amend it in writing. A reputable school will discuss reasonable requests. If you use a loan or scholarship to pay for the course, ask the funder how it pays the school. Some funders pay in stages. Others pay in one amount. Check this before you sign. Our Funding page links to the terms of each funding route. Check the school's finances and how it takes payment A school in financial difficulty might not finish your course. You cannot see the accounts of every school, so look for warning signs. One warning sign is pressure to pay a large deposit or the full fee in advance. Be careful if a school offers a large discount for full payment in advance. It can mean that the school needs cash soon. This increases the risk to you. Look for warning signs Look at how the school operates when you visit. Look for these signs: Staff changes: Do instructors and administrative staff change often? This can point to poor management. Aircraft condition: Are aircraft often out of service for maintenance? This can point to low investment. Fewer trainees: Are there fewer trainees than before? Ask to speak with current trainees, away from the management. These signs do not prove a problem. They help you decide what to ask.
Pay in stages
Do not pay the full course fee in advance. Ask for a staged payment plan, where you pay for the course in blocks. For example, you pay for your PPL first. When the PPL is complete, you pay for the ATPL theory course. Then you pay for hour building. At each stage, you pay only for the training that is next. Staged payment gives the school a reason to keep your training on schedule. If the school fails to deliver, you can move to another school. You have then paid for less training in advance. Check training quality and graduate outcomes A good contract and sound finances do not show how good the training is. Check the training quality and what happens to graduates. A website and a sales presentation show how a school presents itself. They do not show the quality of its training. Ask for evidence. Check the approval A school that trains for UK licences must be approved or declared to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as an Approved or Declared Training Organisation (ATO or DTO). Approval shows that the school meets the CAA's standards. It does not show that the training is good. Our Schools directory lists the schools that we have on record, with their CAA references.
Ask about graduate outcomes Ask the school what happens to its graduates. A general claim such as "we have good airline connections" is not evidence. Ask for specific numbers. A school can share these figures without naming people: How many trainees graduated in the last 12 to 24 months? What percentage of them got a job with an airline within 6 months and within 12 months of finishing? Which airlines hired its graduates? Some schools publish these figures. Leading Edge Aviation reported a 98% placement rate for more than 400 graduates. This is the school's own report. Read the report on graduate placement rates , and ask any school for its own figures. Contact former trainees, for example through LinkedIn. Ask about the instruction and how well the school prepared them for airline assessments. Check the aircraft and simulators The aircraft affect your training. If a school's aircraft are often out of service for maintenance, lessons are cancelled and your course takes longer. When you visit the school, ask these questions: Aircraft age: What is the average age of the training aircraft? Do they have glass-cockpit avionics, as many airliners do? Aircraft availability: How many trainees share each aircraft? A low ratio means shorter waits for lessons. Simulator access: How many simulators does the school have? Are they approved for training and testing? Check whether the school has partnerships with airlines. A partnership does not guarantee a job. For airline-backed funding routes, read UK airline pilot sponsorship: funding models and programmes . Make a back-up plan A school can run into financial difficulty, or your own plans can change. Make a back-up plan before you start. Ask the school for its written policies on disruption. Keep a record of how you would move your training to another school. Questions about the school's policies Look for these procedures in your training agreement. A verbal promise is not enough. Add these questions to your checklist: Financial failure: What is the school's written procedure if it stops trading? How does it handle your training records and any money you have paid, so that you can move to another school? Training delays: What happens if aircraft maintenance or a shortage of instructors delays your training? Is there a written policy for compensation or for leaving without a penalty? Performance: What is the process if you fail a training stage? What support does the school offer, what does it cost, and when can the school end your contract? A school should be able to answer these questions. If it has no written procedures, treat that as a warning sign. If the management gives vague answers, ask again in writing. If the answers stay vague, consider another school. Keep a financial reserve Training budgets often change. Delays, exam resits and extra flight hours add cost. Set aside a reserve for extra costs. Ask the school how many extra hours its trainees usually need, and base the reserve on its answer. A reserve means that a small setback does not stop your course. Plan how to move to another school You might need to leave a school because of poor instruction, delays or closure. Plan how you would transfer your training. Do these steps before you start: Ask about records. Ask the school how it releases your training records. Ask whether it keeps them in a UK CAA-compliant format. Keep your own records. Keep your own logbook. Copy all training reports, exam results and financial statements. You then have a complete file if the school's records become unavailable. Find other schools. Make a shortlist of one or two other schools. Check their prices and availability. With these records and a shortlist, you can move to another school if you need to. Final checklist before you sign The last step before you commit is a visit to the school. Take this checklist with you. Warning signs Pressure to decide quickly is a warning sign. A school with a good reputation does not need to rush you. Vague answers about total costs, refunds or back-up plans are also warning signs. Be careful if you see any of these: Pressure to pay a large amount in advance: Be careful if a school asks for the full course fee before you start. It can point to cash-flow problems. No pro-rata refund policy: The contract should say that you get a refund for training you have not received if you leave. No written cost breakdown: A school should be able to itemise every fee, from exams to equipment. If it cannot, consider another school. Follow these steps for each question: Ask the question. Ask for the answer in writing. Check that the contract says the same thing. Check the school's links with the industry Some schools take part in government programmes. For example, in June 2025 the UK government announced the £750,000 Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund. The fund aims to help more young people into aviation jobs. A school's involvement in a programme like this does not show the quality of its training. You can read the government announcement . Final checklist Before you sign, get written answers to these four questions: Can you give me an itemised breakdown of all costs, including resits, uniform and equipment? Where does the contract state the pro-rata refund policy if I leave the course? Can I pay in stages instead of one large payment? What are the school's written plans if training is delayed for a long time or the school closes? Common questions Trainees often ask these questions. Should I pay for the whole course in advance? We advise against it. If the school stops trading, you can lose all the money that you paid in advance. Many schools offer staged payment plans. You pay for each module or phase as you complete it. Ask for one. If a school offers a large discount for full payment in advance, ask why. If you use outside funding, ask the funder how it pays the school. Our Funding page links to the terms of each funding route. Which document should I ask for first? Ask for the full training contract, with every term and condition, and an itemised list of every cost. Do not rely on verbal promises. If a promise is not in writing, you cannot rely on it. Do not sign on the day. Take the contract home and read it twice. Check the payment schedule, the refund policy and any training guarantees. If a clause is unclear, ask a solicitor or another adviser before you sign. How can I check a school's graduate placement claims? Do not rely on general claims such as "excellent airline connections". Ask for specific, anonymised data on where graduates worked in the last one to two years . Ask how many graduates got an airline job within six and twelve months of finishing. Then contact former trainees, for example through LinkedIn . Send a polite message. Ask how well the school prepared them for airline selection. Their answers can tell you things that the school's figures do not. To compare funding routes, see our Funding page. To find a school, see our Schools directory. CloudFunder does not lend money, sponsor trainees or receive payment from schools.