darren-b, from my understanding of the immigration laws, the ECO has to follow them and if the correct evidence is provided, refusal is very difficult. I'm not sure where your figures come from for those refusal rates, but i'm simply quoting those from a recent audit of the embassy.
I also object a little bit to liane's post, because I know your mean well, but to an 18 year old you will come across quite patronising and I'm sure when you were 18 you probably felt you could handle these situations. Bear in mind that some of our 40 year old forumites here are in relationships with 18 year olds, but thats a different story.
I've done quite a lot of research into the visit visas and have been involved in the applications of 5 so far, 4 for leisure and one for business. It doesn't make me an expert, but I do feel I have a reasonable understanding of the situation.
